Fermi's interaction
Mechanism of beta decay proposed in 1933 / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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In particle physics, Fermi's interaction (also the Fermi theory of beta decay or the Fermi four-fermion interaction) is an explanation of the beta decay, proposed by Enrico Fermi in 1933.[1] The theory posits four fermions directly interacting with one another (at one vertex of the associated Feynman diagram). This interaction explains beta decay of a neutron by direct coupling of a neutron with an electron, a neutrino (later determined to be an antineutrino) and a proton.[2]
Fermi first introduced this coupling in his description of beta decay in 1933.[3] The Fermi interaction was the precursor to the theory for the weak interaction where the interaction between the proton–neutron and electron–antineutrino is mediated by a virtual W− boson, of which the Fermi theory is the low-energy effective field theory.
According to Eugene Wigner, who together with Jordan introduced the Jordan–Wigner transformation, Fermi's paper on beta decay was his main contribution to the history of physics.[4]