The decay of a kaon ( K+ ) into three pions (2 π+ , 1 π− ) is a process that involves both weak and strong interactions.
Weak interactions: The strange antiquark ( s ) of the kaon transmutes into an up antiquark ( u ) by the emission of a W+ boson; the W+ boson subsequently decays into a down antiquark ( d ) and an up quark ( u ).
Strong interactions: An up quark ( u ) emits a gluon ( g ) which decays into a down quark ( d ) and a down antiquark ( d ).
This list is of all known and predicted scalar, pseudoscalar and vector mesons. See list of particles for a more detailed list of particles found in particle physics.
This article contains a list of mesons, unstable subatomic particles composed of one quark and one antiquark. They are part of the hadron particle family—particles made of quarks. The other members of the hadron family are the baryons—subatomic particles composed of three quarks. The main difference between mesons and baryons is that mesons have integer spin (thus are bosons) while baryons are fermions (half-integer spin). Because mesons are bosons, the Pauli exclusion principle does not apply to them. Because of this, they can act as force mediating particles on short distances, and thus play a part in processes such as the nuclear interaction.
Since mesons are composed of quarks, they participate in both the weak and strong interactions. Mesons with net electric charge also participate in the electromagnetic interaction. They are classified according to their quark content, total angular momentum, parity, and various other properties such as C-parity and G-parity. While no meson is stable, those of lower mass are nonetheless more stable than the most massive mesons, and are easier to observe and study in particle accelerators or in cosmic ray experiments. They are also typically less massive than baryons, meaning that they are more easily produced in experiments, and will exhibit higher-energy phenomena sooner than baryons would. For example, the charm quark was first seen in the J/Psi meson ( J/ψ ) in 1974,[1][2] and the bottom quark in the upsilon meson ( ϒ ) in 1977.[3] The top quark (the last and heaviest quark to be discovered to date) was first observed at Fermilab in 1995.
Each meson has a corresponding antiparticle (antimeson) where quarks are replaced by their corresponding antiquarks and vice versa. For example, a positive pion ( π+ ) is made of one up quark and one down antiquark; and its corresponding antiparticle, the negative pion ( π− ), is made of one up antiquark and one down quark. Although tetraquarks with two quarks and two antiquarks can be considered mesons they are not listed here.
The symbols encountered in these lists are: I (isospin), J (total angular momentum), P (parity), C (C-parity), G (G-parity), u (up quark), d (down quark), s (strange quark), c (charm quark), b (bottom quark), Q (charge), B (baryon number), S (strangeness), C (charm), and B′ (bottomness), as well as a wide array of subatomic particles (hover mouse for name).
members of the hadron family are the baryons—subatomic particles composed of three quarks. The main difference between mesons and baryons is that mesons have...
lighter mesons and ultimately to stable electrons, neutrinos and photons. Outside the nucleus, mesons appear in nature only as short-lived products of very...
D mesons are the lightest particle containing charm quarks. They are often studied to gain knowledge on the weak interaction. The strange D mesons (Ds)...
well known for their spectroscopic pattern of masses. The vector mesons contrast with the pseudovector mesons, which also have a total spin 1 but instead...
and ϒ mesons. Namely, on average they last ~ 7 × 10−21 s and ~ 1.5 × 10−20 s respectively. This is compared to the normal mean lifetime of a meson decaying...
eta prime meson ( η′ ) are isosinglet mesons made of a mixture of up, down and strange quarks and their antiquarks. The charmed eta meson ( η c) and...
radiative decays of vector mesons, and meson-meson scattering. The light (unflavored) scalar mesons may be divided into three groups: mesons having a mass...
consists of a quark and an antiquark and is therefore a meson. Pions are the lightest mesons and, more generally, the lightest hadrons. They are unstable...
particle physics, a kaon (/ˈkeɪ.ɒn/), also called a K meson and denoted K , is any of a group of four mesons distinguished by a quantum number called strangeness...
physics, a pseudoscalar meson is a meson with total spin 0 and odd parity (usually notated as JP = 0− ). Pseudoscalar mesons are commonly seen in proton-proton...
part of the vector meson nonet and mediates the nuclear force along with pions and rho mesons. The most common decay mode for the ω meson is π+ π0 π− at 89...
axial vector, mesons in the 1+− category are most readily be seen in proton‑antiproton annihilation and pion‑nucleon scattering. The mesons in the 1++ category...
pions and omega mesons, the rho meson carries the nuclear force within the atomic nucleus. After the pions and kaons, the rho mesons are the lightest...
is the analogous state made from charm quarks. Listofmesons D.C. Hom; et al. (1977). "Observation of a Dimuon Resonance at 9.5 Gev in 400-GeV Proton-Nucleus...
blocks of the atomic nucleus. A great number of hadrons are known (see listof baryons and listofmesons), most of them differentiated by their quark content...
prime mesons, a similar particle with light quarks. Quarkonium, the general name for mesons formed from a quark and the corresponding antiquark. Listof mesons...
Conference on High Energy Physics. Eightfold way (physics) ListofmesonsListof baryons Listof particles Nuclear Technology. By Joseph A. Angelo. P. 12...
B mesons are mesons composed of a bottom antiquark and either an up ( B+ ), down ( B0 ), strange ( B0 s) or charm quark ( B+ c). The combination of a...
types of exotic meson may exist which do not fall within the quark model of classification. These include glueballs and hybrid mesons (mesons bound by...
although being made of elementary fermions. Examples ofmesons include the pion, kaon, and the J/ψ. In quantum hadrodynamics, mesons mediate the residual...
particles made of three quarks, as opposed to mesons, which are composite particles made of one quark and one antiquark. Baryons and mesons are both hadrons...
ListofmesonsListof particles Nucleon Physics portal Sigma baryon Timeline of particle discoveries Xi baryon Particle Data Group. "2010 Review of Particle...
understanding of particle physics. Physics portal Listof baryons ListofmesonsListof particles Hockberger, P. E. (2002). "A history of ultraviolet photobiology...
mesons did not interact with the nuclear force, as pi mesons did (and were required to do, in Yukawa's theory). Newer mesons also showed evidence of behaving...
particles composed of quarks and gluons, but which – unlike "well-known" hadrons such as protons, neutrons and mesons – consist of more than three valence...