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friend
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Each quark as a flavor charge and a color charge. Are these two properties totally independent of each other? Thanks.
So, for example an up quark, u, can have any of the following colors: red, green, blue, anti-red, anti-green, and anti-blue? And an anti-up quark, u, can have any of those colors or anti-colors, too. Is this right? Thanks.mfb said:Yes.
No, a quark cannot carry anti-colour. It is in the ##\bf 3## representation of SU(3), not in the ##\bf \bar 3## representation.friend said:So, for example an up quark, u, can have any of the following colors: red, green, blue, anti-red, anti-green, and anti-blue?
OK. So now I'm learning something (I think). Correct me if I'm wrong. Quarks of any flavor or anti-flavor, e.g., ##u## or ##\bar u##, can only have red, greed, or blue color. But only the gluons can have anti-color in combination with a color. Is this right? Thanks ever so much.Orodruin said:No, a quark cannot carry anti-colour. It is in the ##\bf 3## representation of SU(3), not in the ##\bf \bar 3## representation.
I think there needs to be a correction. I found this site and similar that says quarks have a color charge (red, green, blue), but anti-quarks have anti-color (anti-red, anti-green, anti-blue). The link given is to a site claiming to be sponsored by DOE and NSF. If this is not credible, can someone point me to a more reliable source that confirms this? Thanks.friend said:OK. So now I'm learning something (I think). Correct me if I'm wrong. Quarks of any flavor or anti-flavor, e.g., ##u## or ##\bar u##, can only have red, greed, or blue color. But only the gluons can have anti-color in combination with a color. Is this right? Thanks ever so much.
No, and I don't know how you got that idea. Check Feynman diagrams of gluon exchange.friend said:But it does seem to suggest that a gluon travels only from one type of quark to its anti-quark version.
No.friend said:Does this mean that the ##g####g\bar b## gluon must travel between any quark of color green and any anti-quark of color blue?
Correct.friend said:(I thought anti-quarks can only have anti-color.)
Quark flavor and color independence is a fundamental concept in particle physics that describes how quarks, which are subatomic particles, interact with each other. It states that the properties of quarks, such as their mass and charge, are independent of their flavor (type) and color (a property that describes how quarks interact through the strong nuclear force).
This concept is important because it helps us understand how quarks interact and form different types of particles, such as protons and neutrons. It also provides a framework for understanding the fundamental forces and interactions within the nucleus of an atom.
Quark flavor and color independence was first proposed in the 1960s by physicists Murray Gell-Mann and George Zweig, and was later confirmed through experiments at particle accelerators, such as the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) and the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).
While quark flavor and color independence is a fundamental principle, there are some exceptions. For example, in extreme conditions, such as in the early universe or within a neutron star, the properties of quarks can change and they may no longer behave independently of each other.
Quark flavor and color independence is one of the key principles of the Standard Model, which is the current theory that describes the fundamental particles and forces of the universe. It is essential for the model to accurately predict the behavior of particles and their interactions.