In particle physics, a fermion is a particle that follows Fermi–Dirac statistics and generally has half odd integer spin: spin 1/2, spin 3/2, etc. These particles obey the Pauli exclusion principle. Fermions include all quarks and leptons, as well as all composite particles made of an odd number of these, such as all baryons and many atoms and nuclei. Fermions differ from bosons, which obey Bose–Einstein statistics.
Some fermions are elementary particles, such as the electrons, and some are composite particles, such as the protons. According to the spin-statistics theorem in relativistic quantum field theory, particles with integer spin are bosons, while particles with half-integer spin are fermions.
In addition to the spin characteristic, fermions have another specific property: they possess conserved baryon or lepton quantum numbers. Therefore, what is usually referred to as the spin statistics relation is in fact a spin statistics-quantum number relation.As a consequence of the Pauli exclusion principle, only one fermion can occupy a particular quantum state at a given time. If multiple fermions have the same spatial probability distribution, then at least one property of each fermion, such as its spin, must be different. Fermions are usually associated with matter, whereas bosons are generally force carrier particles, although in the current state of particle physics the distinction between the two concepts is unclear. Weakly interacting fermions can also display bosonic behavior under extreme conditions. At low temperature fermions show superfluidity for uncharged particles and superconductivity for charged particles.
Composite fermions, such as protons and neutrons, are the key building blocks of everyday matter.
The name fermion was coined by English theoretical physicist Paul Dirac from the surname of Italian physicist Enrico Fermi.