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List of particles
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- This is a list of the different types of particles, known and hypothesized. For a chronological listing of subatomic particles by discovery date, see Timeline of particle discoveries.
This is a list of the different types of particles found or believed to exist in nature. For individual lists of the different particles, see the individual pages given below.
lass="link1" onMouseover='showByLink("m1532339",this)' onMouseout='hide("m1532339")'href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Elementary_particle">Elementary particles are particles with no measurable internal structure; that is, they are not composed of other particles.
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Encyclopedia
- This is a list of the different types of particles, known and hypothesized. For a chronological listing of subatomic particles by discovery date, see Timeline of particle discoveries.
This is a list of the different types of particles found or believed to exist in nature. For individual lists of the different particles, see the individual pages given below.
Elementary particles
Elementary particles are particles with no measurable internal structure; that is, they are not composed of other particles. They are the fundamental objects of quantum field theory. Many families and sub-families of elementary particles exist. Elementary particles are classified according to their spin. Fermions have half-integer spin while bosons have integer spin. All the particles of the Standard Model have been observed, with the exception of the Higgs boson.
Fermions
Fermions have half-integer spin; for all known elementary fermions this is . Each fermion has its own distinct antiparticle. Fermions are the basic building blocks of all matter. They are classified according to whether they interact via the color force or not. In the Standard Model, there are 12 types of elementary fermions: six quarks and six leptons.
Quarks
Quarks are the fundamental constituents of hadrons and interact via the strong interaction. Quarks are the only known carriers of fractional charge, but because they combine in groups of three (baryons) or with their antiparticle (mesons), only integer charge is observed in nature. Their respective antiparticles are the antiquarks which are identical except for the fact that they carry the opposite electric charge (for example the up quark carries charge +, while the up antiquark carries charge -), color charge, and baryon number. There are six flavours of quarks; the three positively charged quarks are called up-type quarks and the three negatively charged quarks are called down-type quarks.
Quarks | Name | Symbol | Antiparticle | Charge
e | Mass (MeV/c2) |
|---|
| up | u | | | 1.5–3.3 | | down | d | | | 3.5–6.0 | | charm | c | | | 1,160–1,340 | | strange | s | | | 70–130 | | top | t | | | 169,100–173,300 | | bottom | b | | | 4,130–4,370 | |
Leptons
Leptons do not interact via the strong interaction. Their respective antiparticles are the antileptons which are identical except for the fact that they carry the opposite electric charge and lepton number. While the antiparticle of the electron is the antielectron, it is often called positron for historical reasons. There are six leptons in total; the three charged leptons are called electron-like leptons, while the neutral leptons are called neutrinos.
Leptons | Name | Symbol | Antiparticle | Charge
e | Mass (MeV/c2) |
|---|
| Electron | | | -1 | ~ 0.511 | | Electron neutrino | | | 0 | < 2.2 eV/c2 | | Muon | | | -1 | ~ 105.6 | | Muon neutrino | | | 0 | < 0.170 | | Tauon | | | -1 | ~ 1,776.8 | | Tauon neutrino | | | 0 | < 15.5 | |
Bosons
Bosons have integer spin. The fundamental forces of nature are mediated by gauge bosons, and mass is hypothesized to be created by the Higgs boson. According to the Standard Model (and to both linearized general relativity and string theory, in the case of the graviton) the elementary bosons are:
The Higgs boson (spin-0) is necessitated by electroweak theory primarily to explain the origin of particle masses. Following a process known as the Higgs mechanism, the Higgs boson, and the other fermions in the Standard Model acquire mass via spontaneous symmetry breaking of the SU(2) gauge symmetry. It should be noted that in some theories, the Higgs mechanism, which explains the origin of mass, does not require the existence of a Higgs boson . It is also the only Standard Model particle not yet observed (the graviton is not a Standard Model particle). Assuming that the Higgs boson exists, it is expected to be discovered at the Large Hadron Collider.
Hypothetical particles
Supersymmetric theories predict the existence of more particles, none of which have been confirmed experimentally as of 2009:
Other theories predict the existence of additional bosons:
Mirror particles are predicted by theories that restore Parity symmetry.
Magnetic monopole is a generic name for particles with non-zero magnetic charge. They are predicted by some GUTs.
Tachyon is a generic name for hypothetical particles that travel faster than the speed of light and have an imaginary rest mass.
Preons were suggested as subparticles of quarks and leptons, but modern collider experiments have all but ruled out their existence.
Kaluza-Klein towers of particles are predicted by some models of extra dimensions. The extra-dimensional momentum is manifested as extra mass in four-dimensional space-time.
Composite particles
Hadrons
Hadrons are defined as strongly interacting composite particles. Hadrons are either:
Quark models, first proposed in 1964 independently by Murray Gell-Mann and George Zweig (who called quarks "aces"), describe the known Hadrons as composed of valence quarks and/or antiquarks, tightly bound by the color force, which is mediated by gluons. A "sea" of virtual quark-antiquark pairs is also present in each Hadron.
Notice that mesons are composite bosons, but not composed of bosons. All hadrons, including mesons, are composed of quarks (which are fermions).
Baryons (fermions)
:For a detailed list, see List of baryons.
Ordinary baryons (composite fermions) contain three valence quarks or three valence antiquarks each.
- Nucleons are the fermionic constituents of normal atomic nuclei:
- Protons, composed of two up and one down quark (uud)
- Neutrons, composed of two down and one up quark (ddu)
- Hyperons, such as the ?, S, ?, and O particles, which contain one or more strange quarks, are short-lived and heavier than nucleons. Although not normally present in atomic nuclei, they can appear in short-lived hypernuclei.
- A number of charmed and bottom baryons have also been observed.
Some hints at the existence of exotic baryons have been found recently; however, negative results have also been reported. Their existence is uncertain.
- Pentaquarks consist of four valence quarks and one valence antiquark.
Mesons (bosons)
- For a detailed list, see List of mesons.
Ordinary mesons (composite bosons) contain a valence quark and a valence antiquark, and include the pion, kaon, the J/?, and many other types of mesons. In quantum hadrodynamic models, the strong force between nucleons is mediated by mesons.
Exotic mesons may also exist. Positive signatures have been reported for all of these particles at some time, but their existence is still somewhat uncertain.
- Tetraquarks consist of two valence quarks and two valence antiquarks.
- Glueballs are bound states of gluons with no valence quarks.
- Hybrids consist of one or more valence quark-antiquark pairs and one or more real gluons.
Atomic nuclei
Atomic nuclei consist of protons and neutrons. Each type of nucleus contains a specific number of protons and a specific number of neutrons, and is called a nuclide or isotope. Nuclear reactions can change one nuclide into another. See table of nuclides for a complete list of isotopes.
Atoms
Atoms are the smallest neutral particles into which matter can be divided by chemical reactions. An atom consists of a small, heavy nucleus surrounded by a relatively large, light cloud of electrons. Each type of atom corresponds to a specific chemical element. To date, 117 elements have been discovered (atomic numbers 1-116 and 118), and the first 111 have received official names. Refer to the periodic table for an overview.
Atoms consist of protons and neutrons within the nucleus. Within these particles, there are smaller particles still which are then made up of even smaller particles still.
Molecules
Molecules are the smallest particles into which a non-elemental substance can be divided while maintaining the physical properties of the substance. Each type of molecule corresponds to a specific chemical compound. Molecules are a composite of two or more atoms. See list of compounds for a list of molecules.
Condensed matter
The field equations of condensed matter physics are remarkably similar to those of high energy particle physics. As a result, much of the theory of particle physics applies to condensed matter physics as well; in particular, there are a selection of field excitations, called quasi-particles, that can be created and explored. These include:
- Phonons are vibrational modes in a crystal lattice.
- Excitons are bound states of an electron and a hole.
- Plasmons are coherent excitations of a plasma.
- Polaritons are mixtures of photons with other quasi-particles.
- Polarons are moving, charged (quasi-) particles that are surrounded by ions in a material.
- Magnons are coherent excitations of electron spins in a material.
Other
- A WIMP (weakly interacting massive particle) is any one of a number of particles that might explain dark matter (such as the neutralino or the axion).
- The pomeron, used to explain the elastic scattering of Hadrons and the location of Regge poles in Regge theory.
- The skyrmion, a topological solution of the pion field, used to model the low-energy properties of the nucleon, such as the axial vector current coupling and the mass.
- A goldstone boson is a massless excitation of a field that has been spontaneously broken. The pions are quasi-Goldstone bosons (quasi- because they are not exactly massless) of the broken chiral isospin symmetry of quantum chromodynamics.
- A goldstino is a Goldstone fermion produced by the spontaneous breaking of supersymmetry.
- An instanton is a field configuration which is a local minimum of the Euclidean action. Instantons are used in nonperturbative calculations of tunneling rates.
- A dyon is a hypothetical particle with both electric and magnetic charges
- A geon is an electromagnetic or gravitational wave which is held together in a confined region by the gravitational attraction of its own field energy.
- A UHECR is an ultra-high energy cosmic ray (probably a proton) falling well beyond the GZK cutoff, the energy limit beyond which virtually no cosmic rays should be detected.
- A spurion is the name given to a "particle" inserted mathematically into a Lagrangian. It is a non-propagating field that can be given different symmetry properties to the other fields in the Lagrangian and thus may be used to (softly) break (or re-form a broken) symmetry.
- An inflaton is the generic name for an unidentified scalar particle responsible for the cosmic inflation.
- A chronon is a proposed quantum of time.
Classification by speed
- A tardyon or bradyon travels slower than light and has a non-zero rest mass.
- A luxon travels at the speed of light and has no rest mass.
- A tachyon (mentioned above) is a hypothetical particle that travels faster than the speed of light and has an imaginary rest mass.
See also
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