Mandelstam variables

Mandelstam variables are like building blocks that help us understand interactions between particles. Imagine you have a big pile of building blocks and you want to make different shapes with them. You can’t just stack them randomly, you need to arrange them in a specific way to make the shape you want. Mandelstam variables are like these building blocks that help us build different shapes from particle interactions.

Particles can collide with each other and produce new particles. These new particles can have a variety of different energies and momentum depending on how they collided. Mandelstam variables help us describe the energy and momentum of the original particles and the new particles that were produced.

Think of it like a puzzle. You have different pieces that fit together in specific ways to make a picture. Each piece has a specific shape and size. You can’t just put any piece anywhere or the picture won’t make sense. Mandelstam variables help us fit the pieces of the puzzle together in a way that makes sense.

So, in summary, Mandelstam variables are like building blocks or puzzle pieces that help us understand how particles interact with each other by describing the energy and momentum of the particles involved in a collision.