Hadronization is the process by which quarks and gluons, produced in high-energy processes such as collisions, transition into hadrons, which are particles like protons and neutrons. This transformation is governed by the strong force, and it involves the creation of quark-antiquark pairs to form color-neutral hadrons, making it a non-perturbative aspect of Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD).

Hadronization

Quarks and gluons

High-energy processes

Collisions are interactions between two or more bodies where they exert forces on each other for a relatively short time, resulting in a change in their motion. The study of collisions is crucial in understanding momentum and energy transfer, which are foundational principles in physics and engineering applications.

Collisions

Hadrons are composite particles made of quarks held together by the strong force, which is mediated by gluons. They are classified into baryons, like protons and neutrons, and mesons, which are integral to understanding the structure of atomic nuclei and fundamental forces in particle physics.

Hadrons

Particles like protons and neutrons

The strong force, also known as the strong nuclear force, is one of the four fundamental forces of nature and is responsible for holding the nuclei of atoms together by binding protons and neutrons. It operates at very short ranges, overcoming the electromagnetic repulsion between positively charged protons to maintain nuclear stability.

Strong Force

Quark-antiquark pairs are transient entities that arise due to quantum fluctuations in the vacuum and are part of the mechanism by which particles like mesons are formed. These pairs are essential to understanding interactions and confinement in quantum chromodynamics, the theory describing the strong force between quarks.

Quark-antiquark Pairs

Color-neutral hadrons

Non-perturbative aspect

Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) is the theory that describes the strong interaction, one of the four fundamental forces, which binds quarks together to form protons, neutrons, and other hadrons. It is a part of the Standard Model of particle physics and explains how the exchange of gluons, the force carriers, gives rise to the properties of nuclear matter.

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