Neutron - Proton interaction(through down quark)

[suchal]

Can anyone tell me, in detail, about Neutron - Proton interaction. Newbie here, so please use easy words(i know enough about quarks and gluons as well as strong interaction forces)

 

[blechman]

Not sure how to interpret the phrases "in detail" and "use easy words" appearing in the same paragraph!

But you don't usually talk about "quarks" when you talk about "hadrons" (such as protons and neutrons). Nuclear physicists would rather talk about PIONS.

So a proton and a neutron interact (via the strong nuclear force) through the exchange of pions (a quark-antiquark bound state). They can also exchange photons (even though the neutron is "neutral" it has a magnetic dipole moment and thus still interacts with the electromagnetic force).

Hope that helps.