"The study of fundamental particles and forces that constitute matter and radiation."
A subfield that studies particle physics and fundamental interactions at high energies.
Quantum Mechanics: The study of the behavior of matter and energy at the atomic and subatomic level.
Special Relativity: The study of how physical laws and measurements of space and time are perceived differently by different observers.
Particle Physics: The study of the fundamental constituents of matter and the forces acting upon them.
Standard Model: A theoretical framework for understanding the behavior of elementary particles.
Quantum Field Theory: The study of quantum systems with an infinite number of degrees of freedom, with a focus on describing the behavior of particles and fields.
Symmetry: In physics, symmetry refers to a characteristic of a system that remains unchanged when certain transformations are applied to it.
Fundamental forces: The four fundamental forces of nature are the strong nuclear force, the weak nuclear force, electromagnetism, and gravity. These forces govern the behavior of all particles in the universe.
Accelerators: Devices used to accelerate charged particles to high speeds, allowing their behavior to be studied.
Detectors: Devices used to detect particles and measure their properties as they pass through a given area.
Astroparticle physics: The study of high-energy particles originating from space and their interactions with matter.
Neutrino physics: The study of the behavior and properties of neutrinos, subatomic particles with very low mass and no electric charge.
Dark matter: Hypothetical matter that is believed to make up a significant portion of the universe, but does not emit, absorb, or reflect light or other forms of electromagnetic radiation.
"The fundamental particles in the universe are classified in the Standard Model as fermions (matter particles) and bosons (force-carrying particles)."
"There are three generations of fermions."
"Although ordinary matter is made only from the first fermion generation."
"The first generation consists of up and down quarks which form protons and neutrons, and electrons and electron neutrinos."
"The three fundamental interactions known to be mediated by bosons are electromagnetism, the weak interaction, and the strong interaction."
"Quarks cannot exist on their own but form hadrons."
"Hadrons that contain an odd number of quarks are called baryons, and those that contain an even number are called mesons."
"Two baryons, the proton and the neutron, make up most of the mass of ordinary matter."
"Mesons are also produced in cyclotrons or other particle accelerators."
"Particles have corresponding antiparticles with the same mass but with opposite electric charges."
"For example, the antiparticle of the electron is the positron."
"These antiparticles can theoretically form a corresponding form of matter called antimatter."
"Some particles, such as the photon, are their own antiparticle."
"These elementary particles are excitations of the 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."
"The reconciliation of gravity to the current particle physics theory is not solved."
"Many theories have addressed this problem, such as loop quantum gravity, string theory, and supersymmetry theory."
"The study of these particles in radioactive processes and in particle accelerators such as the Large Hadron Collider."
"Theoretical particle physics is the study of these particles in the context of cosmology and quantum theory. The two are closely interrelated: the Higgs boson was postulated by theoretical particle physicists and its presence confirmed by practical experiments."