# Particle physics

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Study of subatomic particles and forces

It has been suggested that Massless particle be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since March 2026.

Standard Model of particle physics Elementary particles of the Standard Model Background Particle physics Standard Model Quantum field theory Gauge theory Spontaneous symmetry breaking Higgs mechanism Constituents Electroweak interaction Quantum chromodynamics CKM matrix Standard Model mathematics Limitations Strong CP problem Hierarchy problem Neutrino oscillations Physics beyond the Standard Model Scientists Rutherford Thomson Chadwick Bose Sudarshan Davis Jr Anderson Fermi Dirac Feynman Rubbia Gell-Mann Kendall Taylor Friedman Powell Anderson Glashow Iliopoulos Lederman Maiani Meer Cowan Nambu Chamberlain Cabibbo Schwartz Perl Majorana Weinberg Lee Ward Salam Kobayashi Maskawa Mills Yang Yukawa 't Hooft Veltman Gross Pais Pauli Politzer Reines Schwinger Wilczek Cronin Fitch Vleck Higgs Englert Brout Hagen Guralnik Kibble de Mayolo Lattes Zweig v t e

**Particle physics** or **high-energy physics** is the study of [fundamental particles](/source/Elementary_particle) and [forces](/source/Fundamental_interaction) that constitute [matter](/source/Matter) and [radiation](/source/Radiation). The field also studies combinations of elementary particles up to the scale of [protons](/source/Protons) and [neutrons](/source/Neutrons), while the study of combinations of protons and neutrons is called [nuclear physics](/source/Nuclear_physics).

The fundamental particles in the [universe](/source/Universe) are classified in the [Standard Model](/source/Standard_Model) as [fermions](/source/Fermion) (matter particles) and [bosons](/source/Boson) (force-carrying particles). There are three [generations](/source/Generation_(particle_physics)) of fermions, although ordinary matter is made only from the first fermion generation. The first generation consists of [up](/source/Up_quark) and [down quarks](/source/Down_quark) which form [protons](/source/Proton) and [neutrons](/source/Neutron), and [electrons](/source/Electron) and [electron neutrinos](/source/Electron_neutrino). The three fundamental interactions known to be mediated by bosons are [electromagnetism](/source/Electromagnetism), the [weak interaction](/source/Weak_interaction), and the [strong interaction](/source/Strong_interaction).

[Quarks](/source/Quark) form [hadrons](/source/Hadron), but cannot exist on their own. Hadrons that contain an odd number of quarks are called [baryons](/source/Baryon) and those that contain an even number are called [mesons](/source/Meson). Two baryons, the [proton](/source/Proton) and the [neutron](/source/Neutron), make up most of the mass of ordinary matter. Mesons are unstable and the longest-lived last for only a few hundredths of a [microsecond](/source/Microsecond). They occur after collisions between particles made of quarks, such as fast-moving protons and neutrons in [cosmic rays](/source/Cosmic_ray). Mesons are also produced in [cyclotrons](/source/Cyclotron) or other [particle accelerators](/source/Particle_accelerator).

Particles have corresponding [antiparticles](/source/Antiparticle) with the same [mass](/source/Mass) but with opposite [electric charges](/source/Electric_charge). For example, the antiparticle of the [electron](/source/Electron) is the [positron](/source/Positron). The electron has a negative electric charge, the positron has a positive charge. These antiparticles can theoretically form a corresponding form of matter called [antimatter](/source/Antimatter). Some particles, such as the [photon](/source/Photon), are their own antiparticle.

These [elementary particles](/source/Elementary_particle) are excitations of the [quantum fields](/source/Field_(physics)#Quantum_fields) that also govern their interactions. The dominant theory explaining these fundamental particles and fields, along with their dynamics, is called the [Standard Model](/source/Standard_Model). The [reconciliation of gravity](/source/Quantum_gravity) to the current particle physics theory is not solved; many theories have addressed this problem, such as [loop quantum gravity](/source/Loop_quantum_gravity), [string theory](/source/String_theory) and [supersymmetry theory](/source/Supersymmetry).

Experimental particle physics is the study of these particles in [radioactive](/source/Radioactive_decay) processes and in particle accelerators such as the [Large Hadron Collider](/source/Large_Hadron_Collider). Theoretical particle physics is the study of these particles in the context of [cosmology](/source/Cosmology) and [quantum theory](/source/Quantum_mechanics). The two are closely interrelated: the [Higgs boson](/source/Higgs_boson) was postulated theoretically before being confirmed by experiments.

## History

Main article: [History of subatomic physics](/source/History_of_subatomic_physics)

The [Geiger–Marsden experiments](/source/Geiger%E2%80%93Marsden_experiments) observed that a small fraction of the alpha particles experienced strong deflection when being struck by the gold foil.

The idea that all [matter](/source/Matter) is fundamentally composed of [elementary particles](/source/Elementary_particle) dates from at least the 6th century BC.[1] In the 19th century, [John Dalton](/source/John_Dalton), through his work on [stoichiometry](/source/Stoichiometry), concluded that each element of nature was composed of a single, unique type of particle.[2] The word *[atom](/source/Atom)*, after the Greek word *[atomos](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E1%BC%84%CF%84%CE%BF%CE%BC%CE%BF%CF%82)* meaning "indivisible", has since then denoted the smallest particle of a [chemical element](/source/Chemical_element), but physicists later discovered that atoms are not, in fact, the fundamental particles of nature, but are conglomerates of even smaller particles, such as the [electron](/source/Electron). The early 20th century explorations of [nuclear physics](/source/Nuclear_physics) and [quantum physics](/source/Quantum_physics) led to proofs of [nuclear fission](/source/Nuclear_fission) in 1939 by [Lise Meitner](/source/Lise_Meitner) (based on experiments by [Otto Hahn](/source/Otto_Hahn)), and [nuclear fusion](/source/Nuclear_fusion) by [Hans Bethe](/source/Hans_Bethe) in that same year; both discoveries also led to the development of [nuclear weapons](/source/Nuclear_weapon). Bethe's 1947 calculation of the [Lamb shift](/source/Lamb_shift) is credited with having "opened the way to the modern era of particle physics".[3]

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, a bewildering variety of particles was found in collisions of particles from beams of increasingly high energy. It was referred to informally as the [*particle zoo*](/source/Particle_zoo). Important discoveries such as the [CP violation](/source/CP_violation) by [James Cronin](/source/James_Cronin) and [Val Fitch](/source/Val_Fitch) brought new questions to [matter-antimatter imbalance](/source/Baryon_asymmetry).[4] After the formulation of the Standard Model during the 1970s, physicists clarified the origin of the particle zoo. The large number of particles was explained as combinations of a (relatively) small number of more fundamental particles and framed in the context of [quantum field theories](/source/Quantum_field_theory). This reclassification marked the beginning of modern particle physics.[5][6]

## Standard Model

Main article: [Standard Model](/source/Standard_Model)

The current state of the classification of all elementary particles is explained by the [Standard Model](/source/Standard_Model), which gained widespread acceptance in the mid-1970s after [experimental confirmation](/source/Experimental_confirmation) of the existence of [quarks](/source/Quark). It describes the [strong](/source/Strong_interaction), [weak](/source/Weak_interaction), and [electromagnetic](/source/Electromagnetism) [fundamental interactions](/source/Fundamental_interaction), using mediating [gauge bosons](/source/Gauge_boson). The species of gauge bosons are eight [gluons](/source/Gluon), [W− , W+ and Z bosons](/source/W_and_Z_bosons), and the [photon](/source/Photon).[7] The Standard Model also contains 24 [fundamental](/source/Fundamental_particle) [fermions](/source/Fermion) (12 particles and their associated anti-particles), which are the constituents of all [matter](/source/Matter).[8] Finally, the Standard Model also predicted the existence of a type of [boson](/source/Boson) known as the [Higgs boson](/source/Higgs_boson). On 4 July 2012, physicists with the Large Hadron Collider at CERN announced they had found a new particle that behaves similarly to what is expected from the Higgs boson.[9]

The Standard Model, as currently formulated, has 61 elementary particles.[10] Those elementary particles can combine to form composite particles, accounting for the hundreds of other species of particles that have been discovered since the 1960s. The Standard Model has been found to agree with almost all the [experimental](/source/Experiment) tests conducted to date. However, most particle physicists believe that it is an incomplete description of nature and that a more fundamental theory awaits discovery (See [Theory of Everything](/source/Theory_of_Everything)). In recent years, measurements of [neutrino](/source/Neutrino) [mass](/source/Rest_mass) have provided the first experimental deviations from the Standard Model, since neutrinos do not have mass in the Standard Model.[11]

## Subatomic particles

Modern particle physics research is focused on [subatomic particles](/source/Subatomic_particle), including atomic constituents, such as [electrons](/source/Electron), [protons](/source/Proton), and [neutrons](/source/Neutron) (protons and neutrons are composite particles called [baryons](/source/Baryon), made of [quarks](/source/Quark)), that are produced by [radioactive](/source/Radioactive_decay) and [scattering](/source/Scattering) processes; such particles are [photons](/source/Photon), [neutrinos](/source/Neutrino), and [muons](/source/Muon), as well as a wide range of [exotic particles](/source/Exotic_particle).[12] All particles and their interactions observed to date can be described almost entirely by the Standard Model.[7]

Elementary Particles Types Generations Antiparticle Colours Total Quarks 2 3 Pair 3 36 Leptons Pair None 12 Gluons 1 None Own 8 8 Photon Own None 1 Z Boson Own 1 W Boson Pair 2 Higgs Own 1 Total number of (known) elementary particles: 61

Dynamics of particles are also governed by [quantum mechanics](/source/Quantum_mechanics); they exhibit [wave–particle duality](/source/Wave%E2%80%93particle_duality), displaying particle-like behaviour under certain experimental conditions and [wave](/source/Wave)-like behaviour in others. In more technical terms, they are described by [quantum state](/source/Quantum_state) vectors in a [Hilbert space](/source/Hilbert_space), which is also treated in [quantum field theory](/source/Quantum_field_theory). Following the convention of particle physicists, the term *[elementary particles](/source/Elementary_particle)* is applied to those particles that are, according to current understanding, presumed to be indivisible and not composed of other particles.[10]

### Quarks and leptons

Main articles: [Quark](/source/Quark) and [Lepton](/source/Lepton)

A [Feynman diagram](/source/Feynman_diagram) of the [β− decay](/source/Beta_decay), showing a neutron (n, udd) converted into a proton (p, udu). "u" and "d" are the [up](/source/Up_quark) and [down quarks](/source/Down_quark), "e−
" is the [electron](/source/Electron), and "ν
e" is the [electron antineutrino](/source/Electron_Antineutrino).

Ordinary [matter](/source/Matter) is made from first-[generation](/source/Generation_(particle_physics)) quarks ([up](/source/Up_quark), [down](/source/Down_quark)) and leptons ([electron](/source/Electron), [electron neutrino](/source/Electron_neutrino)).[13] Collectively, quarks and leptons are called [fermions](/source/Fermion). They have a [quantum spin](/source/Quantum_spin) of [half-integers](/source/Half-integer) (−1/2, 1/2, 3/2, etc.) and obey the [Pauli exclusion principle](/source/Pauli_exclusion_principle), where no two particles may occupy the same [quantum state](/source/Quantum_state).[14] Quarks have fractional [elementary electric charge](/source/Elementary_charge) (−1/3 or 2/3)[15] and leptons have whole-numbered electric charge (0 or -1).[16] Quarks also have [color charge](/source/Color_charge), which is labeled arbitrarily with no correlation to actual light [color](/source/Color) as red, green and blue.[17] Because the interactions between the quarks store energy which can convert to other particles when the quarks are far apart enough, quarks cannot be observed independently. This is called [color confinement](/source/Color_confinement).[17]

There are three known generations of quarks (up and down, [strange](/source/Strange_quark) and [charm](/source/Charm_quark), [top](/source/Top_quark) and [bottom](/source/Bottom_quark)) and leptons (electron and its neutrino, [muon](/source/Muon) and [its neutrino](/source/Muon_neutrino), [tau](/source/Tau_(particle)) and [its neutrino](/source/Tau_neutrino)), with strong indirect evidence that a fourth generation of fermions does not exist.[18]

### Bosons

Main article: [Boson](/source/Boson)

Bosons are the [mediators or carriers](/source/Force_carrier) of fundamental interactions, such as [electromagnetism](/source/Electromagnetism), the [weak interaction](/source/Weak_interaction), and the [strong interaction](/source/Strong_interaction).[19] Electromagnetism is mediated by the [photon](/source/Photon), the [quanta](/source/Quantum) of [light](/source/Light).[20]: 29–30 The weak interaction is mediated by the [W and Z bosons](/source/W_and_Z_bosons).[21] The strong interaction is mediated by the [gluon](/source/Gluon), which can link quarks together to form composite particles.[22] Due to the aforementioned color confinement, gluons are never observed independently.[23] The [Higgs boson](/source/Higgs_boson) gives mass to the W and Z bosons via the [Higgs mechanism](/source/Higgs_mechanism)[24] – the gluon and photon are expected to be [massless](/source/Massless_particle).[23] All bosons have an integer quantum spin (0 and 1) and can have the same [quantum state](/source/Quantum_state).[19]

### Antiparticles and color charge

Main articles: [Antiparticle](/source/Antiparticle) and [Color charge](/source/Color_charge)

Most aforementioned particles have corresponding [antiparticles](/source/Antiparticle), which compose [antimatter](/source/Antimatter). Normal particles have positive [lepton](/source/Lepton_number) or [baryon number](/source/Baryon_number), and antiparticles have these numbers negative.[25] Most properties of corresponding antiparticles and particles are the same, with a few gets reversed; the electron's antiparticle, positron, has an opposite charge. To differentiate between antiparticles and particles, a plus or negative sign is added in [superscript](/source/Superscript). For example, the electron and the positron are denoted e− and e+ , respectively.[26] However, in the case that the particle has a charge of 0 (equal to that of the antiparticle), the antiparticle is denoted with a line above the symbol. As such, an electron neutrino is ν e, whereas its antineutrino is ν e. When a particle and an antiparticle interact with each other, they are [annihilated](/source/Annihilation) and convert to other particles.[27] Some particles, such as the photon or gluon, have no antiparticles.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

Quarks and gluons additionally have color charges, which influences the strong interaction. Quark's color charges are called red, green and blue (though the particle itself have no physical color), and in antiquarks are called antired, antigreen and antiblue.[17] The gluon can have [eight color charges](/source/Gluon), which are the result of quarks' interactions to form composite particles (gauge symmetry [SU(3)](/source/SU(3))).[28]

### Composite

Main article: [Composite particle](/source/Composite_particle)

A [proton](/source/Proton) consists of two up quarks and one down quark, linked together by [gluons](/source/Gluon). The quarks' color charge are also visible.

The [neutrons](/source/Neutron) and [protons](/source/Proton) in the [atomic nuclei](/source/Atomic_nucleus) are [baryons](/source/Baryon) – the neutron is composed of two down quarks and one up quark, and the proton is composed of two up quarks and one down quark.[29] A baryon is composed of three quarks, and a [meson](/source/Meson) is composed of two quarks (one normal, one anti). Baryons and mesons are collectively called [hadrons](/source/Hadron). Quarks inside hadrons are governed by the strong interaction, thus are subjected to [quantum chromodynamics](/source/Quantum_chromodynamics) (color charges). The [bounded](/source/Bound_state) quarks must have their color charge to be neutral, or "white" for analogy with [mixing the primary colors](/source/Additive_color).[30] More [exotic hadrons](/source/Exotic_hadron) can have other types, arrangement or number of quarks ([tetraquark](/source/Tetraquark), [pentaquark](/source/Pentaquark)).[31]

An atom is made from protons, neutrons and electrons.[32] By modifying the particles inside a normal atom, [exotic atoms](/source/Exotic_atom) can be formed.[33] A simple example would be the [hydrogen-4.1](/source/Hydrogen-4.1), which has one of its electrons replaced with a muon.[34]

### Hypothetical

The [graviton](/source/Graviton) is a hypothetical particle that can mediate the gravitational interaction, but it has not been detected or completely reconciled with current theories.[35] Many other hypothetical particles have been proposed to address the limitations of the Standard Model. Notably, [supersymmetric](/source/Supersymmetry) particles aim to solve the [hierarchy problem](/source/Hierarchy_problem), [axions](/source/Axion) address the [strong CP problem](/source/Strong_CP_problem), and various other particles are proposed to explain the origins of [dark matter](/source/Dark_matter) and [dark energy](/source/Dark_energy).

## Experimental laboratories

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, USA

The world's major particle physics laboratories are:

- [Brookhaven National Laboratory](/source/Brookhaven_National_Laboratory) ([Long Island](/source/Long_Island), New York, [United States](/source/United_States)). Its main facility is the [Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider](/source/Relativistic_Heavy_Ion_Collider) (RHIC), which collides [heavy ions](/source/Relativistic_nuclear_collisions) such as gold ions and polarized protons. It is the world's first heavy ion collider, and the world's only polarized proton collider.[36][37]

- [Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics](/source/Budker_Institute_of_Nuclear_Physics) ([Novosibirsk](/source/Novosibirsk), [Russia](/source/Russia)). Its main projects are now the electron-positron [colliders](/source/Collider) [VEPP-2000](/source/VEPP-2000),[38] operated since 2006, and VEPP-4,[39] started experiments in 1994. Earlier facilities include the first electron–electron beam–beam [collider](/source/Collider) VEP-1, which conducted experiments from 1964 to 1968; the electron-positron [colliders](/source/Collider) VEPP-2, operated from 1965 to 1974; and, its successor VEPP-2M,[40] performed experiments from 1974 to 2000.[41]

- [CMS](/source/Compact_Muon_Solenoid) detector for LHC [CERN](/source/CERN) (European Organization for Nuclear Research) ([Franco](/source/France)-[Swiss](/source/Switzerland) border, near [Geneva](/source/Geneva), Switzerland). Its main project is now the [Large Hadron Collider](/source/Large_Hadron_Collider) (LHC), which had its first beam circulation on 10 September 2008, and is now the world's most energetic collider of protons. It also became the most energetic collider of heavy ions after it began colliding lead ions. Earlier facilities include the [Large Electron–Positron Collider](/source/Large_Electron%E2%80%93Positron_Collider) (LEP), which was stopped on 2 November 2000 and then dismantled to give way for LHC; and the [Super Proton Synchrotron](/source/Super_Proton_Synchrotron), which is being reused as a pre-accelerator for the LHC and for fixed-target experiments.[42]

- [DESY](/source/DESY) (Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron) ([Hamburg](/source/Hamburg), [Germany](/source/Germany)). Its main facility was the [Hadron Elektron Ring Anlage](/source/Hadron_Elektron_Ring_Anlage) (HERA), which collided electrons and positrons with protons.[43] The accelerator complex is now focused on the production of [synchrotron radiation](/source/Synchrotron_radiation) with [PETRA III](/source/PETRA_III), [FLASH](/source/FLASH) and the [European XFEL](/source/European_XFEL).

- [Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab)](/source/Fermilab) ([Batavia](/source/Batavia%2C_Illinois), Illinois, [United States](/source/United_States)). Its main facility until 2011 was the [Tevatron](/source/Tevatron), which collided protons and antiprotons and was the highest-energy particle collider on earth until the Large Hadron Collider surpassed it on 29 November 2009.[44]

- [Institute of High Energy Physics](/source/Institute_of_High_Energy_Physics) (IHEP) ([Beijing](/source/Beijing), [China](/source/China)). IHEP manages a number of China's major particle physics facilities, including the [Beijing Electron–Positron Collider II](/source/Beijing_Electron%E2%80%93Positron_Collider_II)(BEPC II), the Beijing Spectrometer (BES), the Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility (BSRF), the [International Cosmic-Ray Observatory at Yangbajing](/source/Yangbajain_Cosmic_Ray_National_Field_Scientific_Observatory) in Tibet, the [Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment](/source/Daya_Bay_Reactor_Neutrino_Experiment), the [China Spallation Neutron Source](/source/China_Spallation_Neutron_Source), the [Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope](/source/Hard_X-ray_Modulation_Telescope) (HXMT), and the Accelerator-driven Sub-critical System (ADS) as well as the [Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory](/source/Jiangmen_Underground_Neutrino_Observatory) (JUNO).[45]

- [KEK](/source/KEK) ([Tsukuba](/source/Tsukuba%2C_Ibaraki), [Japan](/source/Japan)). It is the home of a number of experiments such as the [K2K experiment](/source/K2K_experiment) and its successor [T2K experiment](/source/T2K_experiment), a [neutrino oscillation](/source/Neutrino_oscillation) experiment and [Belle II](/source/Belle_II_experiment), an experiment measuring the [CP violation](/source/CP_violation) of [B mesons](/source/B_meson).[46]

- [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory](/source/SLAC_National_Accelerator_Laboratory) ([Menlo Park](/source/Menlo_Park%2C_California), California, [United States](/source/United_States)). Its 2-mile-long linear particle accelerator began operating in 1962 and was the basis for numerous [electron](/source/Electron) and [positron](/source/Positron) collision experiments until 2008. Since then the linear accelerator is being used for the [Linac Coherent Light Source](/source/Linac_Coherent_Light_Source) [X-ray laser](/source/X-ray_laser) as well as advanced accelerator design research. SLAC staff continue to participate in developing and building many [particle detectors](/source/Particle_detector) around the world.[47]

## Theory

Quantum field theory Feynman diagram History Background Field theory Electromagnetism Weak force Strong force Quantum mechanics Special relativity General relativity Gauge theory Yang–Mills theory Symmetries Symmetry in quantum mechanics C-symmetry P-symmetry T-symmetry Lorentz symmetry Poincaré symmetry Gauge symmetry Explicit symmetry breaking Spontaneous symmetry breaking Noether charge Topological charge Tools Anomaly Background field method BRST quantization Correlation function Crossing Effective action Effective field theory Expectation value Feynman diagram Lattice field theory LSZ reduction formula Partition function Path Integral Formulation Propagator Quantization Regularization Renormalization Vacuum state Wick's theorem Wightman axioms Equations Dirac equation Klein–Gordon equation Proca equations Wheeler–DeWitt equation Bargmann–Wigner equations Schwinger-Dyson equation Renormalization group equation Standard Model Quantum electrodynamics Electroweak interaction Quantum chromodynamics Higgs mechanism Incomplete theories String theory Supersymmetry Technicolor Theory of everything Quantum gravity v t e

As with [theoretical physics](/source/Theoretical_physics), theoretical particle physics attempts to develop the models, theoretical framework, and mathematical tools to understand current experiments and make predictions for future experiments. There are several major interrelated efforts being made in theoretical particle physics today.

One important branch attempts to better understand the [Standard Model](/source/Standard_Model) and its tests. Theorists make quantitative predictions of observables at [collider](/source/Collider) and [astronomical](/source/Astroparticle_physics) experiments, which along with experimental measurements is used to extract the parameters of the Standard Model with less uncertainty. This work probes the limits of the Standard Model and therefore expands scientific understanding of nature's building blocks. Those efforts are made challenging by the difficulty of calculating high precision quantities in [quantum chromodynamics](/source/Quantum_chromodynamics). Some theorists working in this area use the tools of perturbative [quantum field theory](/source/Quantum_field_theory) and [effective field theory](/source/Effective_field_theory), referring to themselves as [phenomenologists](/source/Phenomenology_(physics)). Others make use of [lattice field theory](/source/Lattice_field_theory) and call themselves *lattice theorists*.

Another major effort is in model building where model builders develop ideas for what physics may lie [beyond the Standard Model](/source/Beyond_the_Standard_Model) (at higher energies or smaller distances). This work is often motivated by the [hierarchy problem](/source/Hierarchy_problem) and is constrained by existing experimental data.[48][49] It may involve work on [supersymmetry](/source/Supersymmetry), alternatives to the [Higgs mechanism](/source/Higgs_mechanism), extra spatial dimensions (such as the [Randall–Sundrum models](/source/Randall%E2%80%93Sundrum_model)), [Preon](/source/Preon) theory, combinations of these, or other ideas. [Vanishing-dimensions theory](/source/Vanishing_dimensions_theory) is a particle physics theory suggesting that systems with higher energy have a smaller number of dimensions.[50]

A third major effort in theoretical particle physics is [string theory](/source/String_theory). *String theorists* attempt to construct a unified description of [quantum mechanics](/source/Quantum_mechanics) and [general relativity](/source/General_relativity) by building a theory based on small strings, and [branes](/source/Brane) rather than particles. If the theory is successful, it may be considered a "[Theory of Everything](/source/Theory_of_Everything)", or "TOE".[51]

There are other areas of work in theoretical particle physics ranging from [particle cosmology](/source/Particle_physics_in_cosmology) to [loop quantum gravity](/source/Loop_quantum_gravity).

## Practical applications

In principle, all physics (and practical applications developed therefrom) can be derived from the study of fundamental particles. In practice, even if "particle physics" is taken to mean only "high-energy atom smashers", many technologies have been developed during these pioneering investigations that later find wide uses in society. Particle accelerators are used to produce [medical isotopes](/source/Isotopes_in_medicine) for research and treatment (for example, isotopes used in [PET imaging](/source/PET_imaging)), or used directly in [external beam radiotherapy](/source/External_beam_radiotherapy). The development of [superconductors](/source/Superconductor) has been pushed forward by their use in particle physics. The [World Wide Web](/source/World_Wide_Web) and [touchscreen](/source/Touchscreen) technology were initially developed at [CERN](/source/CERN). Additional applications are found in medicine, national security, industry, computing, science, and workforce development, illustrating a long and growing list of beneficial practical applications with contributions from particle physics.[52]

## Future

Major efforts to look for [physics beyond the Standard Model](/source/Physics_beyond_the_Standard_Model) include the [Future Circular Collider](/source/Future_Circular_Collider) proposed for CERN[53] and the [Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel](/source/Particle_Physics_Project_Prioritization_Panel) (P5) in the US that will update the 2014 P5 study that recommended the [Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment](/source/Deep_Underground_Neutrino_Experiment), among other experiments.

## See also

- [Atomic physics](/source/Atomic_physics)

- [Astronomy](/source/Astronomy)

- [Astroparticle physics](/source/Astroparticle_physics)

- [Computational particle physics](/source/Computational_particle_physics)

- [High pressure](/source/High_pressure)

- [International Conference on High Energy Physics](/source/International_Conference_on_High_Energy_Physics)

- [International Conference on Photonic, Electronic and Atomic Collisions](/source/International_Conference_on_Photonic%2C_Electronic_and_Atomic_Collisions)

- [Introduction to quantum mechanics](/source/Introduction_to_quantum_mechanics)

- [Standard Model](/source/Standard_Model)

- [List of accelerators in particle physics](/source/List_of_accelerators_in_particle_physics)

- [List of particles](/source/List_of_particles)

- [Micro black hole](/source/Micro_black_hole)

- [Number theory](/source/Number_theory)

- [Particle physics and representation theory](/source/Particle_physics_and_representation_theory)

- [Resonance (particle physics)](/source/Resonance_(particle_physics))

- [Self-consistency principle in high energy physics](/source/Self-consistency_principle_in_high_energy_physics)

- [Stanford Physics Information Retrieval System](/source/Stanford_Physics_Information_Retrieval_System)

- [Timeline of particle physics](/source/Timeline_of_particle_physics)

- [Track significance](/source/Track_significance)

- [Unparticle physics](/source/Unparticle_physics)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Fundamentals of Physics and Nuclear Physics"](https://web.archive.org/web/20121002214053/http://novelresearchinstitute.org/library/PhysNuclphys196p.pdf) (PDF). Archived from the original on 2 October 2012. Retrieved 21 July 2012.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-MARK_I._GROSSMAN_2-0)** Grossman, M. I. (2014). ["John Dalton and the London Atomists"](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4213434). *Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London*. **68** (4): 339–356. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1098/rsnr.2014.0025](https://doi.org/10.1098%2Frsnr.2014.0025). [PMC](/source/PMC_(identifier)) [4213434](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4213434).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Brown, Gerald Edward; Lee, Chang-Hwan (2006). [*Hans Bethe and His Physics*](https://archive.org/details/hansbethehisphys0000unse/page/161). Singapore: World Scientific Publishing. p. 161. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-981-256-609-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-981-256-609-6).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Antimatter"](https://home.cern/science/physics/antimatter). 1 March 2021. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20180911042958/https://home.cern/topics/antimatter) from the original on 11 September 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Weinberg, Steven (1995–2000). *The quantum theory of fields*. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-521-67053-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-521-67053-1).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Jaeger, Gregg (2021). ["The Elementary Particles of Quantum Fields"](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8623095). *Entropy*. **23** (11): 1416. [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2021Entrp..23.1416J](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2021Entrp..23.1416J). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.3390/e23111416](https://doi.org/10.3390%2Fe23111416). [PMC](/source/PMC_(identifier)) [8623095](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8623095). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [34828114](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34828114).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Baker_p_120_7-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Baker_p_120_7-1) Baker, Joanne (2013). *50 quantum physics ideas you really need to know*. London. pp. 120–123. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-78087-911-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-78087-911-6). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [857653602](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/857653602).{{[cite book](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_book)}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_location_missing_publisher))

1. **[^](#cite_ref-pdg_8-0)** Nakamura, K. (1 July 2010). ["Review of Particle Physics"](https://doi.org/10.1088%2F0954-3899%2F37%2F7A%2F075021). *Journal of Physics G: Nuclear and Particle Physics*. **37** (7A): 1–708. [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2010JPhG...37g5021N](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2010JPhG...37g5021N). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1088/0954-3899/37/7A/075021](https://doi.org/10.1088%2F0954-3899%2F37%2F7A%2F075021). [hdl](/source/Hdl_(identifier)):[10481/34593](https://hdl.handle.net/10481%2F34593). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [10020536](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10020536).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Mann, Adam (28 March 2013). ["Newly Discovered Particle Appears to Be Long-Awaited Higgs Boson"](https://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/07/higgs-boson-discovery/). *Wired Science*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20140211212906/http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/07/higgs-boson-discovery/) from the original on 11 February 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2014.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-braibant_10-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-braibant_10-1) Braibant, S.; Giacomelli, G.; Spurio, M. (2009). [*Particles and Fundamental Interactions: An Introduction to Particle Physics*](https://books.google.com/books?id=0Pp-f0G9_9sC&q=61+fundamental+particles&pg=PA314). [Springer](/source/Springer_Science%2BBusiness_Media). pp. 313–314. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-94-007-2463-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-94-007-2463-1). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20210415025723/https://books.google.com/books?id=0Pp-f0G9_9sC&q=61+fundamental+particles&pg=PA314) from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 19 October 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["Neutrinos in the Standard Model"](https://t2k-experiment.org/neutrinos/in-the-standard-model). The T2K Collaboration. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20191016010901/https://t2k-experiment.org/neutrinos/in-the-standard-model/) from the original on 16 October 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** Terranova, Francesco (2021). *A Modern Primer in Particle and Nuclear Physics*. Oxford Univ. Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-19-284524-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-19-284524-5).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Povh02_13-0)** Povh, B.; Rith, K.; Scholz, C.; Zetsche, F.; Lavelle, M. (2004). ["Part I: Analysis: The building blocks of matter"](https://books.google.com/books?id=rJe4k8tkq7sC&q=povh+%22building+blocks+of+matter%22&pg=PA9). *Particles and Nuclei: An Introduction to the Physical Concepts* (4th ed.). Springer. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-3-540-20168-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-3-540-20168-7). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220422024501/https://books.google.com/books?id=rJe4k8tkq7sC&q=povh+%22building+blocks+of+matter%22&pg=PA9) from the original on 22 April 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2022. Ordinary matter is composed entirely of first-generation particles, namely the u and d quarks, plus the electron and its neutrino.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** Peacock, K. A. (2008). [*The Quantum Revolution*](https://archive.org/details/quantumrevolutio00peac). [Greenwood Publishing Group](/source/Greenwood_Publishing_Group). p. [125](https://archive.org/details/quantumrevolutio00peac/page/n143). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-313-33448-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-313-33448-1).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** Quigg, C. (2006). "Particles and the Standard Model". In G. Fraser (ed.). *The New Physics for the Twenty-First Century*. [Cambridge University Press](/source/Cambridge_University_Press). p. 91. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-521-81600-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-521-81600-7).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** Serway, Raymond A.; Jewett, John W. (1 January 2013). [*Physics for Scientists and Engineers, Volume 2*](https://books.google.com/books?id=ecYWAAAAQBAJ). Cengage Learning. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-285-62958-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-285-62958-2).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-R._Nave_17-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-R._Nave_17-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-R._Nave_17-2) Nave, R. ["The Color Force"](http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/forces/color.html#c2). *[HyperPhysics](/source/HyperPhysics)*. [Georgia State University](/source/Georgia_State_University), Department of Physics and Astronomy. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20181007142048/http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/Forces/color.html#c2) from the original on 7 October 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2009.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** Decamp, D. (1989). ["Determination of the number of light neutrino species"](https://cds.cern.ch/record/201511). *[Physics Letters B](/source/Physics_Letters_B)*. **231** (4): 519–529. [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[1989PhLB..231..519D](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1989PhLB..231..519D). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1016/0370-2693(89)90704-1](https://doi.org/10.1016%2F0370-2693%2889%2990704-1). [hdl](/source/Hdl_(identifier)):[11384/1735](https://hdl.handle.net/11384%2F1735).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-DarkMatter_19-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-DarkMatter_19-1) [Carroll, Sean](/source/Sean_M._Carroll) (2007). *Guidebook*. Dark Matter, Dark Energy: The dark side of the universe. The Teaching Company. Part 2, p. 43. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-59803-350-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-59803-350-2). ... boson: A force-carrying particle, as opposed to a matter particle (fermion). Bosons can be piled on top of each other without limit. Examples are photons, gluons, gravitons, weak bosons, and the Higgs boson. The spin of a boson is always an integer: 0, 1, 2, and so on ...

1. **[^](#cite_ref-20)** "Role as gauge boson and polarization" §5.1 in Aitchison, I. J. R.; Hey, A. J. G. (1993). [*Gauge Theories in Particle Physics*](https://books.google.com/books?id=ZJ-ZY8NW9TIC). [IOP Publishing](/source/IOP_Publishing). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-85274-328-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-85274-328-7).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-21)** Watkins, Peter (1986). [*Story of the W and Z*](https://books.google.com/books?id=J808AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA70). Cambridge: [Cambridge University Press](/source/Cambridge_University_Press). p. 70. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-521-31875-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-521-31875-4). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20121114055111/http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=J808AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA70) from the original on 14 November 2012. Retrieved 28 July 2022.

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v t e Particles in physics Elementary Fermions Quarks Up (quark antiquark) Down (quark antiquark) Charm (quark antiquark) Strange (quark antiquark) Top (quark antiquark) Bottom (quark antiquark) Leptons Electron Positron Muon Antimuon Tau Antitau Neutrino Electron neutrino Electron antineutrino Muon neutrino Muon antineutrino Tau neutrino Tau antineutrino Bosons Gauge Photon Gluon W and Z bosons Scalar Higgs boson Ghost fields Faddeev–Popov ghosts Hypothetical Superpartners Gauginos Gluino Gravitino Photino Others Axino Chargino Higgsino Neutralino Sfermion (Stop squark) Others Axion Curvaton Dilaton Dual graviton Graviphoton Graviton Inflaton Leptoquark Magnetic monopole Majoron Majorana fermion Dark photon Preon Sterile neutrino Tachyon W′ and Z′ bosons X and Y bosons Composite Hadrons Baryons Nucleon Proton Antiproton Neutron Antineutron Delta baryon Lambda baryon Sigma baryon Xi baryon Omega baryon Mesons Pion Rho meson Eta and eta prime mesons Bottom eta meson Phi meson J/psi meson Omega meson Upsilon meson Kaon B meson D meson Quarkonium Exotic hadrons Tetraquark (Double-charm tetraquark) Pentaquark Others Atomic nuclei Atoms Exotic atoms Positronium Muonium Tauonium Onia Pionium Protonium Antihydrogen Superatoms Molecules Hypothetical Baryons Hexaquark Heptaquark Skyrmion Mesons Glueball Theta meson T meson Others Mesonic molecule Pomeron Diquark R-hadron Quasiparticles Anyon Davydov soliton Dropleton Exciton Fracton Hole Magnon Phonon Plasmaron Plasmon Polariton Polaron Roton Trion Lists Baryons Mesons Particles Quasiparticles Timeline of particle discoveries Related History of subatomic physics timeline Standard Model mathematical formulation Subatomic particles Particles Antiparticles Nuclear physics Eightfold way Quark model Exotic matter Massless particle Relativistic particle Virtual particle Wave–particle duality Particle chauvinism Physics portal

v t e Fundamental interactions of physics Physical forces Strong interaction fundamental residual Electroweak interaction weak interaction electromagnetism Gravitation Hypothetical forces Fifth force Quintessence Glossary of physics Particle physics Philosophy of physics Universe

v t e Standard Model Background Particle physics Fermions Gauge boson Higgs boson Quantum field theory Gauge theory Strong interaction Color charge Quantum chromodynamics Quark model Electroweak interaction Weak interaction Quantum electrodynamics Fermi's interaction Weak hypercharge Weak isospin Constituents CKM matrix Spontaneous symmetry breaking Higgs mechanism Mathematical formulation of the Standard Model Beyond the Standard Model Evidence Hierarchy problem Dark matter Cosmological constant problem Strong CP problem Neutrino oscillation Theories Technicolor Kaluza–Klein theory Grand Unified Theory Theory of everything Supersymmetry MSSM NMSSM Split supersymmetry Supergravity Quantum gravity String theory Superstring theory Loop quantum gravity Causal dynamical triangulation Canonical quantum gravity Superfluid vacuum theory Twistor theory Experiments Gran Sasso INO LHC SNO Super-K Tevatron Category Commons

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