Hadrons are composite physical systems consisting of quarks bound together by gluons via the non-Abelian SU(3) color gauge interaction of quantum chromodynamics (QCD). They are color-neutral and fall into two main classes: baryons, composed of three valence quarks (qqq), and mesons, composed of a quark–antiquark pair (q\bar{q}). Their structure is governed by confinement, asymptotic freedom, and dynamical chiral symmetry breaking, leading to rich spectra of resonances and internal parton distributions. Hadrons dominate strongly interacting matter, determine the properties of nuclear systems, and serve as primary probes of QCD in both perturbative and nonperturbative regimes.
Nearly every object we interact with in our lives has a mass, but where does this mass come from? Modern physics says matter acquires its mass from interaction with a physical vacuum—it is not an empty space, but contains ...
General Physics
Apr 7, 2026
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Particle accelerators reveal the heart of nuclear matter by smashing together atoms at close to the speed of light. The high-energy collisions produce a shower of subatomic fragments that scientists can then study to reconstruct ...
General Physics
Mar 26, 2026
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A new independent measurement by the CMS experiment at the LHC is consistent with the existence of the most massive composite particle ever observed, the momentary union of a top quark and its antiquark
General Physics
Mar 26, 2026
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Scientists in Geneva took some antiprotons out for a spin—a very delicate one—in a truck, in a never-tried-before test drive that has been deemed a success.
General Physics
Mar 24, 2026
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Scientists in Geneva are taking some antiprotons out for a spin—a very delicate one—in a truck, in a never-tried-before test drive.
General Physics
Mar 24, 2026
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The ALICE Collaboration takes a step further in addressing the question of whether a quark–gluon plasma can be formed in proton–proton and proton–nucleus collisions. In the first few microseconds after the Big Bang, the universe ...
General Physics
Mar 20, 2026
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Scientists from the University of Manchester have played a leading role in the discovery of a new subatomic particle at CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The particle, known as the Ξcc⁺ (Xi‑cc‑plus), is a new type of heavy ...
General Physics
Mar 17, 2026
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The NA62 Collaboration has dramatically reduced the uncertainty in its measurement of an extremely rare particle decay, in results just presented at the 2026 La Thuile conference.
General Physics
Mar 4, 2026
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Getting an up-close view of life at the cellular level can be as simple as placing onion skin under a microscope and adjusting the knobs. Peering deeper, into the heart of the atoms within, isn't as easy. It requires peeling ...
General Physics
Feb 27, 2026
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In its first moments, the infant universe was a trillion-degree-hot soup of quarks and gluons. These elementary particles zinged around at light speed, creating a "quark-gluon plasma" that lasted for only a few millionths ...
General Physics
Jan 28, 2026
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