Do have leptons 0 color charge or none?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the properties of leptons, specifically their color charge in relation to quarks and gluons. Participants explore whether leptons possess color charge or if it is appropriate to say they have a color charge of zero, as well as implications for particle interactions.

Discussion Character

  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants assert that leptons do not possess color charge, suggesting it is accurate to say their color charge is zero.
  • Others question the distinction between "having zero color charge" and "having no color charge," proposing that the two phrases may convey the same meaning.
  • A participant expresses concern that having zero color charge might still allow leptons to interact with color-charged particles, citing the possibility of emitting color combinations like green and antigreen gluons.
  • Another participant clarifies that electron interactions do not involve the strong force, which is relevant to the discussion of color charge.
  • One participant notes that there is no colorless gluon in the context of the strong interaction's symmetry group, SU(3), and discusses the implications of a hypothetical U(3) symmetry.
  • There is a mention of an article titled "lepton number as the fourth colour" by Pati and colleagues, suggesting further reading on the topic.
  • Participants discuss the formation of color-neutral pairs of gluons, indicating that while pairs can exist, they do not couple to quarks, only to individual gluons.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the implications of leptons having zero color charge versus having no color charge. There are multiple competing views regarding the nature of color charge and its effects on particle interactions.

Contextual Notes

Some statements reflect assumptions about particle interactions and the nature of color charge that may not be universally accepted or fully explored within the discussion.

minio
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Sorry for the stupid question, but I am just curious. I found that leptons do not have color charge, so they cannot interact like quarks and gluons, but does that mean that thay do not posses such property or is it safe to assume that their colour charge is 0?
 
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They do not posses this property which means that their color charge is 0.

Would do you think is the difference between "having zero color charge" and "having no (such property as) color charge"?
 
What's the difference? It's like asking whether I don't have any money or whether the amount of money I have is zero. It's the same thing.
 
Well I would just expect that if they have 0 charge they still could mess up with color exchange of particles possesing charge (eg. emitting green+antigreen gluon).
 
minio said:
Well I would just expect that if they have 0 charge they still could mess up with color exchange of particles possesing charge (eg. emitting green+antigreen gluon).

Electron interactions never involve the strong force.
 
There is no green+antigreen i.e. colorless gluon b/c the symmetry group of the strong interaction is SU(3), not U(3); if it would be U(3) = U(1)*SU(3) then there would be a color-neutral U(1) gluon which mediating a long-range force, just like the photon. But even then this gluon would not couple to a color-less particle (again like the photon which does not couple to uncharged particles like the neutrino)
 
Before to answer generalities, please look for the article "lepton number as the fourth colour" by Pati and friends.
 
tom.stoer said:
There is no green+antigreen i.e. colorless gluon
I meant pair of gluons one with color and one with anticolor charge.
 
Two gluons can indeed form a color-neutral pair, but this pair does not couple to a quark - only the indivudial gluons
 

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