Chapter 5

Elementary Particles

The aims of this chapter are as follows:

1) to give a brief introduction to the particle physics,

2) to introduce the weakton model of elementary particles,

3) to address the mechanism of subatomic decays,

4) to introduce color algebra, as the mathematical basis forthe color quantum number,

and

5) to derive the structure of mediator clouds around subatomic particles.

Searching for the main constituents of matter has a long history going back to ancient
Greeks, to Robert Boyle (1600s), John Dalton (early 1800s),J.J. Thomson and Ernest Ruther-
ford (end of the 19th century), and Niels Bohr (1913).
In the current standard model of particle physics, all formsof matter are made up of 6
leptons and 6 quarks, and their antiparticles, which are treated as elementary particles. The
forces are mediated by the mediators, including the photon mediating the electromagnetism,
the vector bosonsW±,Zand the HiggsH^0 mediating the weak interaction, the eight gluons
mediating the strong interaction, and the hypothetical graviton mediating gravity.
However, there are many challenging problems related to subatomic particles. One such
problem is that why leptons do not participate in strong interactions. In fact, the most difficult
challenge is associated with the puzzling decay and reaction behavior of subatomic particles.
For example, the electron radiations and the electron-positron annihilation into photons or
quark-antiquark pair clearly shows that there must be interior structure of electrons, and the
constituents of an electron contribute to the making of photon or the quark in the hadrons
formed in the process. In fact, all sub-atomic decays and reactions show clearly the following
conclusion:

There must be interior structure of charged leptons, quarksand mediators.

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