The contribution of electron-positron colliding beam experiments to high-energy physics in the 1970's has been prodigious. From the research done with the two highest-energy e/sup +/e/sup -/ machines of the present generation of these devices, have come such things as the discovery and illumination of the properties of the psi family, charmed particles, a new heavy lepton, non-ambigious evidence for hadronic jets, etc. The rapid pace of new developments in physics from such machines comes about for two reasons. First, the electron-positron annihilation process at present energies is particularly simple and well understood, making the problem of determining the quantum …
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The contribution of electron-positron colliding beam experiments to high-energy physics in the 1970's has been prodigious. From the research done with the two highest-energy e/sup +/e/sup -/ machines of the present generation of these devices, have come such things as the discovery and illumination of the properties of the psi family, charmed particles, a new heavy lepton, non-ambigious evidence for hadronic jets, etc. The rapid pace of new developments in physics from such machines comes about for two reasons. First, the electron-positron annihilation process at present energies is particularly simple and well understood, making the problem of determining the quantum numbers and properties of new particles particularly simple. Second, in electron-positron annihilation all final states are on a relatively equal footing, and small production cross sections are compensated for by a lack of confusing background. For example, the rate of production of charmed particles at the SPEAR storage ring at SLAC and the DORIS storage ring at DESY is 3 or 4 orders of magnitude less than the rate of production at FNAL and the SPS. Yet these particles were first found at the storage rings where the background cross sections are comparable to the signal cross section, and have not yet been observed directly by their hadronic decays at the proton machines where the background cross sections are 4 orders of magnitude larger than the signal cross sections. The machines PEP at SLAC and PETRA at DESY will soon be operating at 35 to 40 GeV cm to explore new regions of energy. Studies of electron-positron annihilation at much higher energies than presently planned have a great deal to teach, not only about particle structure and dynamics, but also about the nature of the weak interaction. Some of the physics which can be done with such machines is discussed with a view toward getting an idea of the minimum required energy for the new generation of colliding beam devices.
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