Landau–Yang theorem

In quantum mechanics, the Landau–Yang theorem is a selection rule for particles that decay into two on-shell photons. The theorem states that a massive particle with spin 1 cannot decay into two photons. It is named after the work of Lev Landau in 1948 and C.N. Yang in 1950.

Assumptions

A photon here is any particle with spin 1, without mass and without internal degrees of freedom. The photon is the only known particle with these properties.

Consequences

The theorem has several consequences in particle physics. For example:

• The ρ meson cannot decay into two photons, differently from the neutral pion, that almost always decays into this final state (98.8% of times).
• The Z boson cannot decay into two photons.
• The Higgs boson, whose decay into two photons was observed in 2012, cannot have spin 1 in models that assume the Landau–Yang theorem. Measurements taken in 2013 have since confirmed that the Higgs has spin 0.

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Additional references