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n2doc

(47,953 posts)
Fri Apr 3, 2015, 07:38 PM Apr 2015

Exotic particle turns out to be a Quark 'molecule'

Like atoms, subatomic particles can link up to form “molecules.” A long-studied subatomic particle called Lambda (1405) is actually a molecule of two tightly knit particles, researchers report in the April 3 Physical Review Letters. The study reveals a novel arrangement of matter made of quarks, the fundamental constituents of Lambda (1405) and every nucleus of every atom in the universe.

Quark-containing particles are divided into two groups: mesons, which have two quarks, and baryons, which have three. Many physicists considered the particle Lambda (1405) to be a baryon like protons and neutrons. But some researchers proposed that Lambda (1405) could be one part meson and one part baryon, with a total of five quarks. Physicists at the University of Adelaide in Australia ran a supercomputer simulation guided by equations that chart quark interactions to see which interpretation was correct. The simulation showed that Lambda (1405) consists of a meson called an antikaon coupled to a proton or neutron — the first example of a meson-baryon molecule.

The study is the latest to suggest new combinations of quark-based matter. Recent experiments have hinted at the existence of subatomic molecules composed of two mesons (SN: 5/17/14, p. 12). Particle physicist Derek Leinweber of the Adelaide team says he expects to identify other meson-baryon pairs masquerading as baryons, including a high-energy version of the proton.

http://maxnewshunt.com/exotic-particle-turns-out-to-be-quark-molecule/185

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Exotic particle turns out to be a Quark 'molecule' (Original Post) n2doc Apr 2015 OP
The word "mole" means "heap" or "pile" and "molecule" is a diminutive of "mole" -- i.e. "small pile" eppur_se_muova Apr 2015 #1
Which means there are subatomic analogs of prions. bananas Apr 2015 #2

eppur_se_muova

(36,261 posts)
1. The word "mole" means "heap" or "pile" and "molecule" is a diminutive of "mole" -- i.e. "small pile"
Sat Apr 4, 2015, 12:32 AM
Apr 2015

This is pushing the concept of "small" to absurd extremes.

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