QFT derivation of the decay law of an unstable particle with nonzero momentum

Abstract

We present a quantum field theoretical derivation of the nondecay probability of an unstable particle with nonzero three-momentum $\mathbf{p}$. To this end, we use the (fully resummed) propagator of the unstable particle, denoted as $S,$ to obtain the energy probability distribution, called $d_{S}^{\mathbf{p} }(E)$, as the imaginary part of the propagator. The nondecay probability amplitude of the particle $S$ with momentum $\mathbf{p}$ turns out to be, as usual, its Fourier transform: $a_{S}^{\mathbf{p}}(t)=\int_{\sqrt{m_{th} ^{2}+\mathbf{p}^{2}}}^{\infty}dEd_{S}^{\mathbf{p}}(E)e^{-iEt}$ ($m_{th}$ is the lowest energy threshold in the energy frame, corresponding to the sum of masses of the decay products). Upon a variable transformation, one can rewrite it as $a_{S}^{\mathbf{p}}(t)=\int_{m_{th}}^{\infty}dmd_{S} ^{\mathbf{0}}(m)e^{-i\sqrt{m_{th}^{2}+\mathbf{p}^{2}}t}$ [here, $d_{S} ^{\mathbf{0}}(m)\equiv d_{S}(m)$ is the usual spectral function (or mass distribution) in the rest frame]. Hence, the latter expression, previously obtained by different approaches, is here confirmed in an independent and, most importantly, covariant QFT-based approach. Its consequences are not yet fully explored but appear to be quite surprising (such as the fact that usual time-dilatation formula does not apply), thus its firm understanding and investigation can be a fruitful subject of future research.