Handout No.

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Phil.026
December 6, 2010

THE STANDARD MODEL OF PARTICLE PHYSICS

So far we have not answered the question “What is matter?”. Intuitively, matter
is anything that possesses (kinematic or rest) mass, i.e., anything that is affected by
gravity. Most matter on earth is made of atoms and ions. But our universe includes
matter in many other forms, including neutron stars and black holes. All matter is
made of some kind of a quantum particle. Certain types of particles are fundamental,
i.e., they are not (known to be) made up of smaller subparticles. Other particles are
composite, also known as hadrons(baryons and mesons), have an internal structure.
These are composed of quarks, antiquarks, or both, bound by gluons. The most com-
mon fundamental particles within ordinary matter are electrons and quarks. These
make up atoms and ions and form all visible matter. However, there is far more
matter in our universe than is contained in stars and other visible objects. This in-
visible mass is called “dark matter.” Presently its composition and exact nature are
unknown. Some cosmologists think dark matter takes the form of MACHOs (massive
compact halo objects) or WIMPs (weakly interacting massive particles), or simply
neutrinos.
Physicists divide quantum particles into fermions and bosons. Fermions (leptons,
quarks, and baryons) are the building blocks of matter. Bosons (gauge bosons, and
mesons) are primarily force-carrier particles. The so-called standard model of elemen-
tary particles or SM for short, provides a comprehensive description of the underlying
physical structure of the universe. In particular, it explains – at the deepest level,
nearly all phenomena that rule our daily lives, the behavior of light, radio, TV waves,
X-rays and Γ-rays, chemical reactions, thermonuclear reactions that power our sun,
the very first moments of our universe’s existence, how matter came into being, and
more. From the standpoint of physical theories, SM belongs to the class of so-called
relativistic quantum field theories. It is a theory of almost everything, except gravity.
For example, because SM’s equations can only be solved in very simple cases (e.g.,
one electron interacting with one proton), physicists cannot in practice use SM to
describe or “explain” a chair or a brain, but nevertheless they can say with consid-
erable certainty that (from the standpoint of a fundamental level of description) a
chair or brain consists of protons, neutrons, and electrons in various configurations.
Of course, we usually explain the function of a chair or brain within a higher-level
macroscopic conceptual framework.
The basic properties of quantum particles include:
(i) Quantization: Energy and spin of particles come in discrete quantities Energy =

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 nℏω and spin = nℏ, i.e., they are integer multiples of a basic quantum. This kind
of discreteness should be sharply contrasted with classical physics that regards
eneregy and momentum as continuous (and often even smooth) quantities.

(ii) Indeterminacy: Position, velocity, etc., of a particle are given only probabilisti-
cally. That is to say, all we can say is that the position of an electron at time
t is
(x, y, z) with probability p. In symbols: textbfProb positiont (e− ) = (x, y, z) =
p. Similarly for the other basic quantities. Einstein believed in a variant of the
so-called hidden variable theory, according to which probabilistic statements in
quantum mechanics were merely epistemic. As in statistical mechanics, prob-
abilities arising in quantum mechanics could be eliminated via a passage to a
lower-level deterministic description that relies on suitable ‘hidden variables.’
As shown by Bell’s theorem, this view turned out to be incorrect. Quantum
mechanics is intrinsically probabilistic or statistical.

(iii) Wave-particle duality: Quantum particles behave both as particles (resembling

the classical intuition of a dust particle) and waves, depending on their en-
vironmental situation. The so-called double-slit experiment provides the best
illustration of this dual nature of quantum particles.

(iv) Heisenberg’s Uncertainty: It is not possible to measure simultaneously the val-

ues of the so-called conjugate pairs quantities with arbitrary high degrees of
accuracy. For example, highly accurate measurement of a moving electron’s
position prevents a similarly highly accurate simultaneous measurement of its
velocity. The errors involved must satisfy Heisenberg’s inequality

∆(position) · ∆(velocity) ≥ ℏ

where ℏ denotes Planck’s constant. Thus, if the error ∆(position) in the position
measurement of a pareticle is tiny, then the error in its velocity measurement
cannot be equally tiny, since then the product of two tiny numbers would be
less than ℏ, contradicting Heisenberg’s principle that is part of quantum theory.
Similar results are available about the (energy, time) conjugate pair. This leads
to a philosophical question whether the positions and momenta of quantum
particles are “real” in any good sense of the term, or merely quantities that
acquire values (with some probability) only when measured.

Importantly, the ontology of quantum theory takes all four known forces to be
conveyed or carried by special quantum particles. The table below itemizes the cor-
respondence between forces in a classical sense and particles in the sense of quantum
theory:

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 Four Basic Forces in Nature and Their Carrier Quantum Particles
Type Range Strength Carrier Influences
gravity ∞ 10−39 graviton everything
electromag. ∞ 10−2 photon electr. charged particles
weak 10−16 cm 10−13 vect. bosons leptons and hadrons
strong 10−13 cm 1 8 gluons color-charged particles

Massless1 Gravitons are not part of SM and they have not been observed. However,
there is considerable indirect evidence that supports their existence. Massless photons
represent the quantum mechanical counterpart of electromagenetic forces.
The carriers of weak forces – electrically charged intermediate vector bosons W + , W −
and Z 0 , possess rest mass and are needed for explaining the phenomenon of radioactive
decay.
Strong forces, carried by gluons, apply only to color-charged quarks. In strong analogy
to electric charge, quarks possess 3 color charges, conveniently called blue B, red R,
and emphgreen G. Strong forces hold protons, neutrons and nuclei together. There
are 8 color- and anticolor-charged gluons, indexed by color-anticolor pairs:

gB,R̄ , gB,Ḡ , gR,Ḡ , gR,B̄ , gG,R̄ , gG,B̄ , gBRG,B̄ R̄Ḡ , gBRG,BRG .

Of course, a green “up” quark is different from a blue or red “up” quark, likewise for
“down” quarks. In each composite particle these color charges cancel out, so that the
particle is always color-neutral or simply “white” when observed from the outside.
Quarks (and antiquarks) also carry fractional electrical charges (in addition to color
charges) ± 13 or ± 23 of the total charge of an electron or proton that adds up to 1, -1
or 0 in all composite particles. Thus, again, not observed from the noutside.
Finally, another set of particles with positive rest mass – called the Higgs particles or
simply higgsons, are needed to handle the problem of masses of “material” as opposed
to “force” particles. Although Higgs particles have not beeen observed in colliders
or in nature, there is considerable indirect evidence in support of their existence.
Remarkably, most visible matter in our universe is made up of just three particles:
electrons, up and down quarks. The structurte of dark matter may not be covered by
SM. However, some physicists believe that a supersymmetric extension of SM will
include dark matter. In essence, such an extension doubles the number of fundamen-
tal particles. Unfortunately, thus far such “supersymmetric” particles have not been
observed.
Part of the purpose of SM has been to clarify what happened in the early universe,
1
Massless means that the rest mass of a particle is 0. However, its kinematic mass is not zero.
For example, photons do not have a rest mass but they possess a kinematic mass.

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shortly after the Big Bang, and what may go on in a black hole. Research is centered
on smashing particles together in large particle accelerators.
As we have alluded to above, according to SM, there are two kinds of particles: (i)
elementary or fundamental point-like particles that are not assumed to be decom-
posable into smaller constituents, and (ii)composite particles that are made up of
three quarks of colors B, R, and G, or of a quark and antiquark. In total, there are
62 fundamental particles and several hundreds of known compound particles. Specif-
ically, there are 6 leptons and 18 quarks. Now, because there are also antileptons
and antiquarks, the total number doubles and grows to 48. Next add 8 gluons, 3
vector bosons, gravitons2 and photons to get 61. Finally, the hypothetical Higgs par-
ticle gives us the total of 62 fundamental particles. This uncommonly large number
of fundamental particles prompted some quantum physicists to initiate string theory
that has only one kind of (1-dimensional) particle – a closed (oriented) string (loop).
Unfortunately, string theory requires a 10 or 11-dimensional space-time, bringing a
new type of complexity, this time of space and time. In brief, complex particle ontol-
ogy is traded for a complicated space-time ontology.
The table below provides a complete classification of fundamental particles, as un-
derstood by the standard model:

Classification of Fundamental Point-like Quantum Particles

Fermions with fract. spins 12 , 32 , 25 , · · · Bosons with int. spins 0, 1, 2, · · ·
6 Leptons, spin 12 , -1 or 0 el. charge Force Particles
electron e− electron-neutrino νe0 photon, massless spin 1
0
muon µ− muon-neutrino νµ
tauon τ − tauon-neutrino ντ0 graviton, massless spin 2
6 Quarks, spin 21 , fract. el. charge, 3 colors
up u, 23 el.ch. down d, − 13 el.ch bosons W + , W − , Z 0 spin 1
top t, 23 el.ch. bottom b, − 13 el.ch. 8 color-charged gluons spin 1
charm c, 32 el.ch. strange s, − 31 el.ch. higgson with mass, spin 0

We said that each particle has its unique antiparticle counterpart in the fermion
family. Their mass is the same as that of the particle but electric charge and other
properties are the opposite. In the boson family, either a particle is its own antiparticle
or there is a simple permutation. E.g., W − is the antiparticle of W + and conversely.
The next table shows the classification of fundamental antiparticles.
2
The graviton does not fit into the SM scheme, because general relativity is incompatible with
certain aspects of the standard model. String theory attempts to unite gravity with particle physics.

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 Classification of Fundamental Point-like Quantum Antiparticles
Fermions with fract. spins 12 , 32 , 25 , · · · Bosons with int. spins 0, 1, 2, · · ·
1
6 Antileptons, spin 2 , -1 or 0 el. charge Force Particles
positron e+ el.-antineutrino ν̄e0 photon, massless spin 1
antimuon µ+ muon-antineutrino ν̄µ0
antitau τ + tau-antineutrino ν̄τ0 graviton, massless spin 2
6 Antiquarks, spin 21 , fr. el. ch., 3 anticols
up ū, − 23 el. charge down d̄, 13 el.ch. bosons W + , W − , Z 0 spin 1
top t̄, − 32 el.ch. bottom b̄, 31 el.ch. 8 color-charged gluons spin 1
charm c̄, − 32 el.ch. strange s̄, 13 el.ch. higgson w. mass, spin 0

Quarks feel the strong force, but 6 different leptons (electrons, muons, tauons, etc.)
do not. Only electrons and neutrinos are the stable ones and occur in ordinary matter.
Although therer are 6 flavors of quarks, only two occur in ordinary matter: the “up”
and “down” quarks.
The bond that link the constituents of solids, liquids, gases, and plasma are based
on the electromagnetic force, carried by photons. This force attracts particles of
unlike electric charge and repels particles with like charges. It is one of the three
forces that control the small-scale structure of matter. The electromagnetic force also
holds electrons within the shell surrounding the nucleus of an atom. It attracts the
negatively electrically charged electrons toward the positively charged nucleus and
keeps electrons apart. The so-called strong force, also known as color force, carried
by gluons, holds together protons, neutrons, and atomic nuclei. It binds quarks and
controls the quarks’ color property. The weak force, carried by vector bosons W + ,
W − , and Z 0 , brings about radioactive decay and other nuclear interactions.
Gravity, carried by gravitons, is the attractive force that exists between every object
in the universe. It is the force that holds both stars and galaxies together, and causes
a pin to drop. Gravity is weaker than the other fundamental forces, but because
it acts over great distances and between all bodies possessing mass, it has played a
major role in shaping the universe. Gravity is crucial in creating black holes.
According to SM, protons, neutrons, π mesons, and so forth, are composite particles,
also known as hadrons. They are made up of quarks or antiquarks, or both, and are
bound by gluons.
Baryons are relatively large-mass particles, containing 3 quarks. For example, a
proton is made up of two “up” quarks and one “down” quark, and its total electric
charge is +1. The colors of constituent quarks areof course different – red, blue and
green, giving a “neutral’ outside color. A neutron, on the other hand, is made up of

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2 “down” quarks and one “up” quark, and its total electric charge is 0. Again, the
colors of constitutive quarks are different. Hundreds of other baryons exist.
Mesons are particles containing a quark and an antiquark. For example, the positive
pion π + has one “up” quark and one “anti-down” quark, and its electric charge is
+1. Hundreds of other mesons exist. Here is a sample classification.

Classification of Composite Quantum Particles

Fermions with fract. spins 12 , 23 , 25 , · · · Bosons with int. spins 0, 1, 2, · · ·
100+ Baryons, 1, -1 or 0 el. charge 100+ Mesons 1, -1 or 0 el. charge
proton (p+ ) uud spin 12 , el.ch.1 pion (π + ) ud̄ spin 0
neutron (n0 ) udd spin 12 , el.ch.0 kaon (κ+ ) us̄
Omega (Ω− ) sss spin 32 , el.ch. -1 psion (ψ + ) cc̄

To recall, a proton consists of two up quarks and one down quark, as depicted in
the picture below that also includes the gluon that holds the quarks together. The
picture also includes the total electric charge, i.e., +1. The constituent quarks (3 in
total) possess different colors that are dynamically switched by the gluon.

................................
......... 1 n ...........
.
.... − 3 d ....
...
... ...
.. ...
.. .
... @ ...
... 2 n @ n2 . .
... 3 u u 3..
.... .
.....
......
.
.......
......................................

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 In a similar way, a neutron has two down quarks and one up quark:

....................................
.
. ........... .......
..... .....
....
..... n
2
3
u ...
.. ...
.. ...
.. ...
... @ .
... .
... − 1 dn @ n 1 ..
... 3 d − 3 ..
... .
.... .....
..... ..
.......
............ ......
......
........................
Now, it is also possible to construct antimatter. For example, an antiproton p̄− is
made up of three antiquarks: two antiquarks ū with el. charge − 23 and one antiquark
d̄ with el. charge 31 , the total electric charge being negative −1:

.............
.................. ...................
.. ......
.... ....
...... 1
3 d̄
n ...
...
.. ...
... ...
.. ..
... @ ..
... 2 @ n 2 .. .
... − ūn ū − 3 .
... 3 ..
.... ..
..... ...
.......
.......... .
....
.....
................................
Antineutron is constructed similarly. In this way, we can have antihydrogen atoms,
antihelium atoms, and so forth, anti-higher elements in general, or simply antimatter.
It is unclear why the universe in our Milky Way vicinity is made up entirely of matter
and not antimatter.
Further particles have been hypothesized that do not have a place in the standard
model. They include magnetic monopoles and WIMPs.