Force carrier particles i.e. gravitons, photons

[FeDeX_LaTeX]

Hello;

How do force carrier particles work? For example, if I drop an object, the force of gravity is carried by gravitons. Does this mean that there is a long stream of gravitons underneath/all around the object? Because the wave would need to be carried through the medium of gravitons. Is this true?

Thanks.

 

[FeDeX_LaTeX]

Well, this is all hypothetical, so it may not be true. I'm guessing there isn't much evidence for force carrier particles?

 

[tiny-tim]

They're a mathematical convenience.

The Hamiltonian operator of the force is an infinite sum of products of a finite number of creation and annihilation operators of particles.

For the electromagnetic force between two electrons, for example, or between an electron and a photon, those operators are of electrons and photons.

But that doesn't mean that any electron or photon is actually annihilated or created.

The photon being a "carrier" or "mediator" for the electromagnetic force only means that its operators appear in the Hamiltonian, not that they themselves actually appear in the interaction.

 

[FeDeX_LaTeX]

I'm confused... they're there, but also not there?

I have never heard of the Hamiltonian operator, I will google it.