What happens to the gluon linking Quarks at time of formation of quark

In summary, the formation of a quark star involves the merging of gluons and virtual quarks, resulting in a messy exchange of color neutralization. The quark star itself may consist of a combination of quarks and quark gluon plasma.
  • #1
psimji
1
0
what happens to the gluon linking Quarks at time of formation of quark star? whether the quark star consists of only quarks or quark gluon plasma?
 
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  • #2
There are not "some number of gluons linking quarks" in a baryon. It is more like a mess of short-living gluons and virtual quarks (and even that model can be problematic). So you just have merging messes of gluons, virtual and real quarks.
 
  • #3
I must say I do not really understand the original formulation. My two cents nevertheless.

If you collide an electron with a positron at very high energies, and produce a quark-antiquark pair flying off back-to-back, some non-singlet (or "non-zero" if you will) color is flying with each member of the pair. That implies such two jets are not independent from the onset. One can be sure that there will be some amount of color neutralization via a lower energy, non-perturbative "messy" exchange, as mfb mentions.
 

1. What is a gluon and how does it link quarks?

A gluon is a subatomic particle that carries the strong nuclear force, which is responsible for binding quarks together to form protons and neutrons. Gluons act as the "glue" that holds quarks together through the exchange of gluons between them.

2. What happens to the gluon when a quark is formed?

At the moment of quark formation, the gluon linking the quarks is absorbed into the newly formed quark. This process is known as gluon confinement and it is what keeps quarks bound together in particles like protons and neutrons.

3. Can gluons exist independently or are they always bound to quarks?

Gluons can exist independently, but only for a very short period of time before they interact with other particles and are reabsorbed into a quark. This is because the strong nuclear force is incredibly strong, preventing gluons from existing on their own for long.

4. Do gluons have mass?

No, gluons do not have mass. They are considered to be massless particles, along with photons (particles of light). This is because they travel at the speed of light and do not interact with the Higgs field, which gives particles their mass.

5. How many gluons can be exchanged between quarks?

The number of gluons exchanged between quarks is not fixed and can vary depending on the energy of the interaction. In general, the more energy involved, the more gluons can be exchanged. This is known as the "color force" and it is what allows for the bound states of quarks to form different particles with varying properties.

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