A researcher studying naturally occurring polonium proposes the following single–step transmutation:
84212Po⟶82208Pb+X
where X is an emitted particle.
Polonium-212 is initially at rest in the laboratory frame. The proposal is submitted for peer review.
(a) Identify the particle X and write the balanced nuclear equation for the proposed decay, using proper nuclear notation.
(b) Describe the sequence of quantitative checks you would perform on the nuclear equation to confirm that the transformation is permissible within the standard model of particle physics.
(c) Explain why lepton number does not enter into any of the checks carried out in part (b) for this specific decay mode.