File:Top_antitop_quark_event.svg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
top quark
Sign in to saveAlso known as t quark, truth quark, t-quark
the heaviest of the six known flavors of quarks
The top quark is the heaviest of the six types of quarks, which are fundamental particles that make up matter. It matters to physicists because studying the top quark helps them understand the basic building blocks of the universe and test theories about how particles interact.
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Wikidata facts
- Mass
- 172.57
- Image
- Top quark.svg
Show 4 more facts
- Monte Carlo Particle Number
- 6
- spin quantum number
- 0.5
- electric charge
- 0.66666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666
- parity quantum number
- 1
Sources (3)
via Wikidata · CC0
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Article
The top quark (symbol: t) is the most massive of all observed elementary particles. It derives its mass from its coupling to the Higgs field. This coupling yt is very close to unity; in the Standard Model of particle physics, it is the largest (strongest) coupling at the scale of the weak interactions and above. The top quark was discovered in 1995 by the CDF and DØ experiments at Fermilab.
Like all other quarks, the top quark is a fermion with spin-1/2 and participates in all four fundamental interactions: gravitation, electromagnetism, weak interactions, and strong interactions. It has an electric charge of +2/3 e. It has a mass of 172.76±0.3 GeV/c, which is close to the rhenium atom mass (more precisely, the average of its isotopes). The antiparticle of the top quark is the top antiquark (symbol: t, sometimes called antitop quark or simply antitop), which differs from it only in that some of its properties have equal magnitude but opposite sign.