QuarkElementary particle, fundamental constituent of matterA quark ( ) is a type of elementary particle and a fundamental constituent of matter. Quarks combine to form composite particles called hadrons, the most stable of which are protons and neutrons, the components of atomic nuclei. All commonly observable matter is composed of up quarks, down quarks, and electrons.
Quantum chromodynamicsIn theoretical physics, quantum chromodynamics (QCD) is the study of the strong interaction between quarks mediated by gluons. Quarks are fundamental particles that make up composite hadrons such as the proton, neutron and pion. QCD is a type of quantum field theory called a non-abelian gauge theory, with symmetry group SU(3). The QCD analog of electric charge is a property called color.
HadronIn particle physics, a hadron is a composite subatomic particle made of two or more quarks that are held together by the strong nuclear force. Pronounced , the name is derived from Ancient Greek (hadrós)'stout, thick'. They are analogous to molecules, which are held together by the electromagnetic force.
Color chargeColor charge is a property of quarks and gluons that is related to the particles' strong interactions in the theory of quantum chromodynamics (QCD). Like electric charge, it determines how quarks and gluons interact through the strong force; however, rather than there being only positive and negative charges, there are three "charges", commonly called red, green, and blue. Additionally, there are three "anti-colors", commonly called anti-red, anti-green, and anti-blue.
GluonA gluon ( ) is a type of masslesselementary particle that mediates the strong interaction between quarks, acting as the exchange particle for the interaction. Gluons are massless vector bosons, thereby having a spin of 1. Through the strong interaction, gluons bind quarks into groups according to quantum chromodynamics (QCD), forming hadrons such as protons and neutrons.
MesonIn particle physics, a meson () is a type of hadronicsubatomic particle composed of an equal number of quarks and antiquarks, usually one of each, bound together by the strong interaction. Because mesons are composed of quark subparticles, they have a meaningful physical size, a diameter of roughly one femtometre (10 m), which is about 0.6 times the size of a proton or neutron. All mesons are unstable, with the longest-lived lasting for only a few tenths of a nanosecond.
BaryonIn particle physics, a baryon is a type of compositesubatomic particle that contains an odd number of valence quarks, conventionally three. Protons and neutrons are examples of baryons; because baryons are composed of quarks, they belong to the hadronfamily of particles. Baryons are also classified as fermions because they have half-integer spin.
Hagedorn temperatureThe Hagedorn temperature, TH, is the temperature in theoretical physics above which hadronic matter (i.e. ordinary matter) is no longer stable, and must either "evaporate" or convert into quark matter; as such, it can be thought of as the "boiling point" of hadronic matter. It was discovered by Rolf Hagedorn.Exotic baryonIn particle physics, exotic baryons are a type of hadron (bound states of quarks and gluons) with half-integer spin, but with a quark content different from the three quarks (qqq) present in conventional baryons. An example would be pentaquarks, consisting of four quarks and one antiquark (qqqqq̅). So far, the only observed exotic baryons are the pentaquarks Pc(4380), Pc(4450) discovered in 2015, Pc(4312) in 2019 and Pψs(4338) in 2022 by the LHCb collaboration.
KelvinThe kelvin (symbol: K) is the base unit for temperature in the International System of Units (SI).
Tera-Tera- (; symbol T) is a metric prefix denoting a factor of a short-scaletrillion or long-scale billion (10 or 1000000000000). It was adopted in the International System of Units (SI) in 1960. The prefix is derived from the Greek word τέρας (téras), meaning "".
ElectronvoltIn physics, an electronvolt (symbol eV), also written as electron-volt and electron volt, is a unit of measurement equivalent to the amount of kinetic energy gained by a single electron accelerating through an electric potential difference of one volt in a vacuum. When used as a unit of energy, the numerical value of 1 eV expressed in unit of joules (symbol J) is equal to the numerical value of the charge of an electron in coulombs (symbol C).*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.