This is a timeline of subatomic particle discoveries, including all particles thus far discovered which appear to be
elementary (that is, indivisible) given the best available evidence. It also includes the discovery of
composite particle
This is a list of known and hypothesized microscopic particles in particle physics, condensed matter physics and cosmology.
Standard Model elementary particles
Elementary particles are particles with no measurable internal structure; that is, ...
s and
antiparticle
In particle physics, every type of particle of "ordinary" matter (as opposed to antimatter) is associated with an antiparticle with the same mass but with opposite physical charges (such as electric charge). For example, the antiparticle of the ...
s that were of particular historical importance.
More specifically, the inclusion criteria are:
* Elementary particles from the
Standard Model
The Standard Model of particle physics is the Scientific theory, theory describing three of the four known fundamental forces (electromagnetism, electromagnetic, weak interaction, weak and strong interactions – excluding gravity) in the unive ...
of
particle physics
Particle physics or high-energy physics is the study of Elementary particle, fundamental particles and fundamental interaction, forces that constitute matter and radiation. The field also studies combinations of elementary particles up to the s ...
that have so far been observed. The Standard Model is the most comprehensive existing model of particle behavior. All Standard Model particles including the
Higgs boson
The Higgs boson, sometimes called the Higgs particle, is an elementary particle in the Standard Model of particle physics produced by the excited state, quantum excitation of the Higgs field,
one of the field (physics), fields in particl ...
have been verified, and all other observed particles are combinations of two or more Standard Model particles.
* Antiparticles which were historically important to the development of particle physics, specifically the
positron
The positron or antielectron is the particle with an electric charge of +1''elementary charge, e'', a Spin (physics), spin of 1/2 (the same as the electron), and the same Electron rest mass, mass as an electron. It is the antiparticle (antimatt ...
and
antiproton. The discovery of these particles required very different experimental methods from that of their ordinary matter counterparts, and provided evidence that ''all'' particles had antiparticles—an idea that is fundamental to
quantum field theory
In theoretical physics, quantum field theory (QFT) is a theoretical framework that combines Field theory (physics), field theory and the principle of relativity with ideas behind quantum mechanics. QFT is used in particle physics to construct phy ...
, the modern mathematical framework for particle physics. In the case of most subsequent particle discoveries, the particle and its anti-particle were discovered essentially simultaneously.
* Composite particles which were the first particle discovered containing a particular elementary constituent, or whose discovery was critical to the understanding of particle physics.
See also
*
List of baryons
*
List of mesons
*
List of particles
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Timeline of Particle Discoveries
Particle discoveries
Particle physics