Physics:Partial width

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This term is used as a synonym for the partial cross-section of one of several competing reactions, i.e. is directly proportional to a branching ratio. The term comes from the level widths of excited nuclei with different lifetimes Hepb img520.gif . Lifetime and decay width Hepb img58.gif are related by the Heisenberg uncertainty principle

Hepb img521.gif

where Hepb img522.gif for Hepb img42.gif in s and Hepb img58.gif in GeV. The total lifetime is then given by

Hepb img523.gif

or the total width by

Hepb img524.gif

An individual relative branching ratio is given by Hepb img525.gif .