The GlueX experiment is designed to probe the mechanisms of confinement of quarks and gluons inside hadrons. Quantum chromodynamics (QCD) is the accepted theory of the nuclear strong force which explains the interactions of the quarks and gluons that compose hadrons. Quarks and gluons are subatomic particles which never live in isolation, but are always bound inside composite objects called hadrons. Gluons are the force that holds quarks together inside hadrons is the gluon field. Different hadrons are distinguished by a unique set of quantum numbers for J (spin), P (parity), and C (charge conjugation) and flavor. Hadrons come in two types: mesons existing in their simple state of bound quark/antiquark, and baryons in simplest form of three quarks. Mesons consist of only two fermions, and provides a unique opportunity for studying strong-interacting physics. Such an opportunity is analagous to the hydrogen atom in classical physics. | The GlueX experiment is designed to probe the mechanisms of confinement of quarks and gluons inside hadrons. Quantum chromodynamics (QCD) is the accepted theory of the nuclear strong force which explains the interactions of the quarks and gluons that compose hadrons. Quarks and gluons are subatomic particles which never live in isolation, but are always bound inside composite objects called hadrons. Gluons are the force that holds quarks together inside hadrons is the gluon field. Different hadrons are distinguished by a unique set of quantum numbers for J (spin), P (parity), and C (charge conjugation) and flavor. Hadrons come in two types: mesons existing in their simple state of bound quark/antiquark, and baryons in simplest form of three quarks. Mesons consist of only two fermions, and provides a unique opportunity for studying strong-interacting physics. Such an opportunity is analagous to the hydrogen atom in classical physics. |