Key Stage 5
Meaning
An antiquark is the antiparticle of a quark.
About Antiquarks
- Antiquarks have opposite electric charge and "colour charge" to quarks.
- Combine with other antiquarks to form antibaryons or with quarks to form mesons.
- Quarks and antiquarks are fundamental constituents of matter.
- Antiquarks are produced in high-energy collisions such as those in particle accelerators.
- Antiquarks participate in strong interactions mediated by gluons.
- Antiquarks and quarks are bound together by the strong force in hadrons.
- The study of antiquarks provides insight into the behaviour and properties of fundamental particles.
Antiquark | Symbol | Charge/e | Strangeness | Baryon Number | Lepton Number |
\(\bar{u}\) | \(Q=-\frac{2}{3}\) | \(S=0\) | \(B=-\frac{1}{3}\) | \(L=0\) | |
\(\bar{d}\) | \(Q=+\frac{1}{3}\) | \(S=0\) | \(B=-\frac{1}{3}\) | \(L=0\) | |
\(\bar{s}\) | \(Q=+\frac{1}{3}\) | \(S=+1\) | \(B=-\frac{1}{3}\) | \(L=0\) |