Cabibbo theory

Cabibbo theory

[ka′bi·bō ‚thē·ə·rē] (particle physics) A theory describing baryon beta-decay processes, according to which the amplitude for such processes is given by G {cos Θ[Vs = 0) + As = 0)] + sin Θ{Vs = +1) + As = +1)]{, where Θ is the Cabibbo angle, Δ s is the change in strangeness for the baryon, G is a universal beta-decay amplitude, and V and A are vector and axial vector amplitudes, respectively; it is experimentally determined that sin Θ ≈ 0.25, so that cos Θ = 0.97.