Quarks: Confinement Issues & Free Particles

In summary, the conversation discusses the concept of confinement and how it relates to the existence of free quarks during the early stages of the universe. The observation of quark-gluon plasma is brought up as an example of free quarks, but it is clarified that they are not completely free from external influence. This can be compared to asymptotic freedom in QCD, where quarks become almost free at high momentum transfer.
  • #1
Bready
8
0
I'm struggling to get to grips with the idea that quarks cannot be observed as isolated particles due to confinement and yet existed as free particles during an early epoch after the big bang. Surely quarks aren't actually confined if they can exist at high enough energies.

In fact aren't these:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quark-gluon_plasma

observations of free quarks? How is confinement being violated in these cases?
 
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  • #2
You can't be too strict on your definition of "free". Is an electron in a metal, moving around on in the conduction band "free"? Well it can move around yes, but it is still subject to the potentials around it. Same with the QGP, they're not free in the sense that there is one particle, subject to no external influence. They are just compressed so much that there is no distinguished boundaries of the "baryons" everything overlaps and so can move as a plasma/soup.
 
  • #3
Well you can compare this (i think) with aysompotic freedom of QCD, at high momentum transfer, quarks are "almost" free, the coupling decreases as energy scale increases. This is why quark-gluon plasma can occur.
 

1. What are quarks?

Quarks are fundamental particles that make up protons and neutrons, which are the building blocks of atoms. They are also the carriers of the strong nuclear force, which holds atoms together.

2. What is confinement in relation to quarks?

Confinement is the concept in particle physics that states that quarks cannot exist as free particles, but instead are always bound together in groups of two or three within protons and neutrons. This is due to the strong nuclear force.

3. What is the significance of confinement in understanding the behavior of quarks?

Confinement plays a crucial role in understanding the behavior of quarks because it explains why we only observe quarks in groups rather than as individual particles. It also helps us understand the strong nuclear force and how it keeps atoms together.

4. Are there any exceptions to confinement?

There are some speculative theories that suggest the existence of particles called "quark stars" which are made up of only quarks and do not have any protons or neutrons. However, this is still a topic of ongoing research and has not been confirmed.

5. How does confinement impact our understanding of the universe?

Confinement has a significant impact on our understanding of the universe because it explains the behavior of particles and how they interact with each other. It also helps us understand the structure and stability of atoms, which is essential for understanding the physical world around us.

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