Question

Reading the wikipedia of Bhabha scattering, I see that the electron-positron annihilation and electron-positron scattering are analyzed seperately. What are the differences between these two processes? Why aren't they the same process?

Answer 1

Electron-positron annihilation involves the conversion of the particles' mass into energy, while electron-positron scattering is simply the deflection of the particles from each other without annihilation.

Step-by-step explanation:

The two processes of electron-positron annihilation and electron-positron scattering are different phenomena in particle physics.

Electron-positron annihilation occurs when an electron and its antiparticle, a positron, collide, resulting in their mass being converted into energy according to Einstein's equation E = mc², typically producing two gamma photons that travel in opposite directions. This process is instantaneous and conserves the total momentum and energy.

On the other hand, electron-positron scattering involves the deflection of an electron and a positron off each other without annihilation, with both particles remaining intact after the interaction.

The concept of antiparticles functioning just like their matter counterpart is an interesting notion, although studying antimatter is complicated because of annihilation.