tau lepton
E50859
The tau lepton is a heavy, unstable elementary particle similar to the electron but with much greater mass, playing a key role in lepton physics and tests of the Standard Model.
Aliases (1)
- antitau ×3
Statements (49)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Standard Model particle
→
elementary particle → fermion → lepton → |
| antiparticle |
antitau
→
|
| baryonNumber |
0
→
|
| belongsTo |
lepton sector of the Standard Model
→
|
| chargeConjugationPartner |
antitau
→
|
| colorCharge |
0
→
|
| decayMode |
hadronic decays with one or more mesons plus tau neutrino
→
leptonic decay to electron, electron antineutrino, and tau neutrino → leptonic decay to muon, muon antineutrino, and tau neutrino → |
| discoveredAt |
SLAC
→
|
| discoveredBy |
Martin Perl
→
|
| discoveryYear |
1975
→
|
| electricCharge |
-1 e
→
|
| generation |
third lepton generation
→
|
| hasAssociatedNeutrino |
tau neutrino
→
|
| interaction |
electromagnetic interaction
→
gravitational interaction → weak interaction → |
| isHeavierThan |
electron
→
muon → |
| isPointLike |
consistent with point-like down to current experimental limits
→
|
| isProducedIn |
hadron collider experiments
→
high-energy electron–positron collisions → |
| isSimilarTo |
electron
→
muon → |
| isSubjectOf |
precision tests of the Standard Model
→
tests of lepton universality → |
| isUnstable |
true
→
|
| isUsedToTest |
CP violation in tau decays
→
charged-current weak interaction structure → |
| leptonFamilyNumber |
tau lepton number +1
→
|
| leptonNumber |
+1
→
-1 → |
| lifetime |
about 2.9×10⁻13 s
→
|
| mass |
about 1.77686 GeV/c²
→
about 1776.86 MeV/c² → about 3.167×10⁻²⁷ kg → |
| PDGParticleID |
-15
→
15 → |
| restEnergy |
about 1.77686 GeV
→
|
| spin |
1/2
→
|
| statistics |
Fermi–Dirac statistics
→
|
| symbol |
τ⁺
→
τ⁻ → |
| weakHypercharge |
-1 (left-handed doublet)
→
|
| weakIsospin |
-1/2 (left-handed component)
→
|
Referenced by (2)
| Subject (surface form when different) | Predicate |
|---|---|
|
Standard Model
→
|
containsParticle |
|
tau neutrino
→
|
isPartnerOf |