Quarks

Section Key Terms

Quarks

“The first principles of the universe are atoms and empty space. Everything else is merely thought to exist…”

“… Further, the atoms are unlimited in size and number, and they are borne along with the whole universe in a vortex, and thereby generate all composite things—fire, water, air, earth. For even these are conglomerations of given atoms. And it because of their solidity that these atoms are impassive and unalterable.”

—Diogenes Laertius (summarizing the views of Democritus, circa 460–370 B.C.)

The search for fundamental particles is nothing new. Atomists of the Greek and Indian empires, like Democritus of fifth century B.C., openly wondered about the most finite components of our universe. Though dormant for centuries, curiosity about the atomic nature of matter was reinvigorated by Rutherford’s gold foil experiment and the discovery of the nucleus. By the early 1930s, scientists believed they had fully determined the tiniest constituents of matter—in the form of the proton, neutron, and electron.

This would be only partially true. At present, scientists know that there are hundreds of particles not unlike our electron and nucleons, all making up what some have termed the particle zoo. While we are confident that the electron remains fundamental, it is surrounded by a plethora of similar sounding terms, like leptons, hadrons, baryons, and mesons. Even though not every particle is considered fundamental, they all play a vital role in understanding the intricate structure of our universe.

A fundamental particle is defined as a particle with no substructure and no finite size. According to the Standard Model, there are three types of fundamental particles: leptons, quarks, and carrier particles. As you may recall, carrier particles are responsible for transmitting fundamental forces between their interacting masses. Leptons are a group of six particles not bound by the strong nuclear force, of which the electron is one. As for quarks, they are the fundamental building blocks of a group of particles called hadrons, a group that includes both the proton and the neutron.

Now for a brief history of quarks. Quarks were first proposed independently by American physicists Murray Gell-Mann and George Zweig in 1963. Originally, three quark types—or flavors—were proposed with the names up (u), down (d), and strange (s).

At first, physicists expected that, with sufficient energy, we should be able to free quarks and observe them directly. However, this has not proved possible, as the current understanding is that the force holding quarks together is incredibly great and, much like a spring, increases in magnitude as the quarks are separated. As a result, when large energies are put into collisions, other particles are created—but no quarks emerge. With that in mind, there is compelling evidence for the existence of quarks. By 1967, experiments at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory scattering 20-GeV electrons from protons produced results like Rutherford had obtained for the nucleus nearly 60 years earlier. The SLAC scattering experiments showed unambiguously that there were three point-like (meaning they had sizes considerably smaller than the probe’s wavelength) charges inside the proton as seen in Figure 23.12. This evidence made all but the most skeptical admit that there was validity to the quark substructure of hadrons.

Figure 23.12 Scattering of high-energy electrons from protons at facilities like SLAC produces evidence of three point-like charges consistent with proposed quark properties. This experiment is analogous to Rutherford’s discovery of the small size of the nucleus by scattering α particles. High-energy electrons are used so that the probe wavelength is small enough to see details smaller than the proton.

The inclusion of the strange quark with Zweig and Gell-Mann’s model concerned physicists. While the up and down quarks demonstrated fairly clear symmetry and were present in common fundamental particles like protons and neutrons, the strange quark did not have a counterpart of its own. This thought, coupled with the four known leptons at the time, caused scientists to predict that a fourth quark, yet to be found, also existed.

In 1974, two groups of physicists independently discovered a particle with this new quark, labeled charmed. This completed the second exotic quark pair, strange (s) and charmed (c). A final pair of quarks was proposed when a third pair of leptons was discovered in 1975. The existence of the bottom (b) quark and the top (t) quark was verified through experimentation in 1976 and 1995, respectively. While it may seem odd that so much time would elapse between the original quark discovery in 1967 and the verification of the top quark in 1995, keep in mind that each quark discovered had a progressively larger mass. As a result, each new quark has required more energy to discover.

One of the most confounding traits of quarks is their electric charge. Long assumed to be discrete, and specifically a multiple of the elementary charge of the electron, the electric charge of an individual quark is fractional and thus seems to violate a presumed tenet of particle physics. The fractional charge of quarks, which are $\pm \left(\frac{2}{3}\right)q_e$ and $\pm \left(\frac{1}{3}\right)q_e$, are the only structures found in nature with a nonintegral number of charge $q$ . However, note that despite this odd construction, the fractional value of the quark does not violate the quantum nature of the charge. After all, free quarks cannot be found in nature, and all quarks are bound into arrangements in which an integer number of charge is constructed. Table 23.3 shows the six known quarks, in addition to their antiquark components, as will be discussed later in this section.

While the term flavor is used to differentiate between types of quarks, the concept of color is more analogous to the electric charge in that it is primarily responsible for the force interactions between quarks. Note—Take a moment to think about the electrostatic force. It is the electric charge that causes attraction and repulsion. It is the same case here but with a color charge. The three colors available to a quark are red, green, and blue, with antiquarks having colors of anti-red (or cyan), anti-green (or magenta), and anti-blue (or yellow).

Why use colors when discussing quarks? After all, the quarks are not actually colored with visible light. The reason colors are used is because the properties of a quark are analogous to the three primary and secondary colors mentioned above. Just as different colors of light can be combined to create white, different colors of quark may be combined to construct a particle like a proton or neutron. In fact, for each hadron, the quarks must combine such that their color sums to white! Recall that two up quarks and one down quark construct a proton, as seen in Figure 23.12. The sum of the three quarks’ colors—red, green, and blue—yields the color white. This theory of color interaction within particles is called quantum chromodynamics, or QCD. As part of QCD, the strong nuclear force can be explained using color. In fact, some scientists refer to the color force, not the strong force, as one of the four fundamental forces. Figure 23.13 is a Feynman diagram showing the interaction between two quarks by using the transmission of a colored gluon. Note that the gluon is also considered the charge carrier for the strong nuclear force.

Figure 23.13 The exchange of gluons between quarks carries the strong force and may change the color of the interacting quarks. While the colors of the individual quarks change, their flavors do not.

Note that quark flavor may have any color. For instance, in Figure 23.13, the down quark has a red color and a green color. In other words, colors are not specific to a particle quark flavor.

Hadrons and Leptons

Particles can be revealingly grouped according to what forces they feel between them. All particles (even those that are massless) are affected by gravity since gravity affects the space and time in which particles exist. All charged particles are affected by the electromagnetic force, as are neutral particles that have an internal distribution of charge (such as the neutron with its magnetic moment). Special names are given to particles that feel the strong and weak nuclear forces. Hadrons are particles that feel the strong nuclear force, whereas leptons are particles that do not. All particles feel the weak nuclear force. This means that hadrons are distinguished by being able to feel both the strong and weak nuclear forces. Leptons and hadrons are distinguished in other ways as well. Leptons are fundamental particles that have no measurable size, while hadrons are composed of quarks and have a diameter on the order of 10^–15 m. Six particles, including the electron and neutrino, make up the list of known leptons. There are hundreds of complex particles in the hadron class, a few of which (including the proton and neutron) are listed in Table 23.4.

There are many more leptons, mesons, and baryons yet to be discovered and measured. The purpose of trying to uncover the smallest indivisible things in existence is to explain the world around us through forces and the interactions between particles, galaxies and objects. This is why a handful of scientists devote their life’s work to smashing together small particles.

What internal structure makes a proton so different from an electron? The proton, like all hadrons, is made up of quarks. A few examples of hadron quark composition can be seen in Figure 23.14. As shown, each hadron is constructed of multiple quarks. As mentioned previously, the fractional quark charge in all four hadrons sums to the particle’s integral value. Also, notice that the color composition for each of the four particles adds to white. Each of the particles shown is constructed of up, down, and their antiquarks. This is not surprising, as the quarks strange, charmed, top, and bottom are found in only our most exotic particles.

Figure 23.14 All baryons, such as the proton and neutron shown here, are composed of three quarks. All mesons, such as the pions shown here, are composed of a quark–antiquark pair. Arrows represent the spins of the quarks. The colors are such that they need to add to white for any possible combination of quarks.

You may have noticed that while the proton and neutron in Figure 23.14 are composed of three quarks, both pions are comprised of only two quarks. This refers to a final delineation in particle structure. Particles with three quarks are called baryons. These are heavy particles that can decay into another baryon. Particles with only two quarks—a-quark–anti-quark pair—are called mesons. These are particles of moderate mass that cannot decay into the more massive baryons.

Before continuing, take a moment to view Figure 23.15. In this figure, you can see the strong force reimagined as a color force. The particles interacting in this figure are the proton and neutron, just as they were in Figure 23.6. This reenvisioning of the strong force as an interaction between colored quarks is the critical concept behind quantum chromodynamics.

Figure 23.15 This Feynman diagram shows the interaction between a proton and a neutron, corresponding to the interaction shown in Figure 23.6. This diagram, however, shows the quark and gluon details of the strong nuclear force interaction.

Matter and Antimatter

Antimatter was first discovered in the form of the positron, the positively charged electron. In 1932, American physicist Carl Anderson discovered the positron in cosmic ray studies. Through a cloud chamber modified to curve the trajectories of cosmic rays, Anderson noticed that the curves of some particles followed that of a negative charge, while others curved like a positive charge. However, the positive curve showed not the mass of a proton but the mass of an electron. This outcome is shown in Figure 23.16 and suggests the existence of a positively charged version of the electron, created by the destruction of solar photons.

Figure 23.16 The image above is from the Fermilab 15 foot bubble chamber and shows the production of an electron and positron (or antielectron) from an incident photon. This event is titled pair production and provides evidence of antimatter, as the two repel each other.

Antimatter is considered the opposite of matter. For most antiparticles, this means that they share the same properties as their original particles with the exception of their charge. This is why the positron can be considered a positive electron while the antiproton is considered a negative proton. The idea of an opposite charge for neutral particles (like the neutron) can be confusing, but it makes sense when considered from the quark perspective. Just as the neutron is composed of one up quark and two down quarks (of charge $+\frac{2}{3}$ and $-\frac{1}{3}$ , respectively), the antineutron is composed of one anti–up quark and two anti–down quarks (of charge $-\frac{2}{3}$ and $+\frac{1}{3}$ , respectively). While the overall charge of the neutron remains the same, its constituent particles do not!

A word about antiparticles: Like regular particles, antiparticles could function just fine on their own. In fact, a universe made up of antimatter may operate just as our own matter-based universe does. However, we do not know fully whether this is the case. The reason for this is annihilation. Annihilation is the process of destruction that occurs when a particle and its antiparticle interact. As soon as two particles (like a positron and an electron) coincide, they convert their masses to energy through the equation $E=m{c}^2$ . This mass-to-energy conversion, which typically results in photon release, happens instantaneously and makes it very difficult for scientists to study antimatter. That said, scientists have had success creating antimatter through high-energy particle collisions. Both antineutrons and antiprotons were created through accelerator experiments in 1956, and an anti–hydrogen atom was even created at CERN in 1995! As referenced in Figure 22.40, the annihilation of antiparticles is currently used in medical studies to determine the location of radioisotopes.

Completing the Standard Model of the Atom

The Standard Model of the atom refers to the current scientific view of the fundamental components and interacting forces of matter. The Standard Model (Figure 23.17) shows the six quarks that bind to form all hadrons, the six lepton particles already considered fundamental, the four carrier particles (or gauge bosons) that transmit forces between the leptons and quarks, and the recently added Higgs boson (which will be discussed shortly). This totals 17 fundamental particles, combinations of which are responsible for all known matter in our entire universe! When adding the antiquarks and antileptons, 31 components make up the Standard Model.

Figure 23.17 The Standard Model of elementary particles shows an organized view of all fundamental particles, as currently known: six quarks, six leptons, and four gauge bosons (or carrier particles). The Higgs boson, first observed in 2012, is a new addition to the Standard Model.

Figure 23.17 shows all particles within the Standard Model of the atom. Not only does this chart divide all known particles by color-coded group, but it also provides information on particle stability. Note that the color-coding system in this chart is separate from the red, green, and blue color labeling system of quarks. The first three columns represent the three families of matter. The first column, considered Family 1, represents particles that make up normal matter, constructing the protons, neutrons, and electrons that make up the common world. Family 2, represented from the charm quark to the muon neutrino, is comprised of particles that are more massive. The leptons in this group are less stable and more likely to decay. Family 3, represented by the third column, are more massive still and decay more quickly. The order of these families also conveniently represents the order in which these particles were discovered.

The Standard Model also summarizes the fundamental forces that exist as particles interact. A closer look at the Standard Model, as shown in Figure 23.18, reveals that the arrangement of carrier particles describes these interactions.

Figure 23.18 The revised Standard Model shows the interaction between gauge bosons and other fundamental particles. These interactions are responsible for the fundamental forces, three of which are described through the chart’s shaded areas.

Each of the shaded areas represents a fundamental force and its constituent particles. The red shaded area shows all particles involved in the strong nuclear force, which we now know is due to quantum chromodynamics. The blue shaded area corresponds to the electromagnetic force, while the green shaded area corresponds to the weak nuclear force, which affects all quarks and leptons. The electromagnetic force and weak nuclear force are considered united by the electroweak force within the Standard Model. Also, because definitive evidence of the graviton is yet to be found, it is not included in the Standard Model.