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Does the alpha particle travel in vacuum for ever and ever or can it undergo some transformation eg two protons get separated or the neutron decays etc.?

Gonenc
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It depends on what theory of everything nature follows. There are some theories that predict that protons decay, so if one of the protons decays the particle will disintegrate as one proton and two neutrons are not a stable system.

In order to have a beta decay of the alpha, the left over system, three protons and one neutron, should be energetically favorable, more bound. This is not true so it is not a transition that can happen within the standard model.

If there exists a new exchange in a new theory which will allow the proton to decay , it means that quarks which carry the baryon number, can disappear, which is not the case within the standard model.

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anna v
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  • Can one of the neutrons decay instead? – Gonenc Mar 26 '15 at 13:03
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    Decay of a neutron happens when it is energetically possible, i.e. the decay fragments are more bound than the nucleus that decays via neutron decay. (beta-). There is no such case for the alpha and that is why it is stable. Proton decay depending on the new theory, would happen through exchanges of new, non standard model, particles within the proton, in the quark gluon soup it contains. Have a look at the diagram in my answer here http://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/79064/how-does-the-super-kamiokande-experiment-falsify-su5/173717#173717 . – anna v May 16 '15 at 02:59
  • Why is one proton and two neutrons unstable? – lagrange103 May 16 '15 at 03:53
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    @surelyourejoking tritium. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tritium – anna v May 16 '15 at 04:09