I have a question regarding Figure 1 from this paper: https://cds.cern.ch/record/2859612/files/TOP-22-008-pas.pdf
How can a top quark decay into a top quark and a $W^{-}$ boson?
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asked Jun 26, 2023 at 13:17
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$\begingroup$ Mike stone's answer is right... but I also want to note that the horizontal line is a virtual particle. Feynman diagrams aren't depictions of particles that existed for a short time then decayed into other particles. So even with the fix of $b$ replacing $t$, it isn't correct to phrase it as "a $b$ quark decays into $t$ and $W^-$". Unfortunately to properly understand the meaning of these diagrams one needs to study QFT. $\endgroup$– AXensenCommented Jun 26, 2023 at 13:53
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It's a typo. The horizontal line should be a "b" with charge -1/3 rather than a "t" with charge +2/3. This is clear because the incoming "b" has emited a charge neutral gluon, and therefore remains a "b".
answered Jun 26, 2023 at 13:29