Understanding Eta & Eta Prime Mesons

[owenhuang]

I am confused by eta meson and eta prime meson ?what is the difference between the two ones ? who can tell me what are they made up ?
please help me ! thank you very much !

 

[arivero]

It is even more confusing: you must consider the eta, the eta' and the pi0 as part of the same game.

 

[sir-pinski]

Eta and Eta Prime mesons are both subatomic particles made up of quarks and antiquarks. They are part of the family of mesons, which are particles made up of a quark and an antiquark bound together by the strong nuclear force.

The main difference between the two is their mass and composition. Eta mesons, also known as eta particles, have a mass of about 548 MeV/c^2 and are composed of an up quark and an anti-down quark. On the other hand, Eta Prime mesons, also known as eta-prime particles, have a mass of about 958 MeV/c^2 and are composed of an up quark and an anti-up quark.

One way to think about the difference between the two is that the Eta Prime meson is a heavier and more excited version of the Eta meson. This difference in mass and composition leads to different properties and behaviors of these particles.

Both Eta and Eta Prime mesons are unstable and decay quickly, with the Eta meson having a lifetime of about 10^-18 seconds and the Eta Prime meson having a lifetime of about 10^-21 seconds. They can be produced in high-energy collisions, such as those at particle accelerators, and can also be observed in certain types of nuclear reactions.

In summary, Eta and Eta Prime mesons are similar particles made up of different combinations of quarks and antiquarks. Their differences in mass and composition lead to different properties and behaviors, making them important components in our understanding of the subatomic world.