Exploring Quark Forces: Attraction & Distance

[Xile]

I know that when quarks move away from the centre of a particle the attraction force on them increases. How and why does this happen? What happens if using an extreme amount of energy you do move it away to a decent distance? If the force gets stronger as it moves away, is there any force when theyre touching?

 

[humanino]

I know that when quarks move away from the centre of a particle the attraction force on them increases. How and why does this happen?

This happens because the gluons interact with each other : the color (unbroken) gauge group is non-abelian. The details of how this happens are really unknown however. I am sure you will have many people telling you about their preferred model

What happens if using an extreme amount of energy you do move it away to a decent distance?

You will put such an amount of energy that you will create new particles.

If the force gets stronger as it moves away, is there any force when theyre touching?

Good thinking : indeed, if the forces increase as quarks move away from each other, the force also decreases at short distances. We talk about asymptotic freedom versus confinement. This actually deserves to be really thought about twice. Try to imagine how puzzling this was when it has been discovered : you know that there are particles inside those hadrons (the quarks) which are so tightly bound that they cannot fly free (confinement). However, when you look closely at them, you find that they are non-interacting (asymptotic freedom). Quite baffling until you hear about QCD

 

[sir-pinski]

The concept of quark forces is a complex and fascinating topic in the field of particle physics. Quarks are fundamental particles that make up protons and neutrons, which in turn make up the nucleus of atoms. They are held together by strong nuclear forces, also known as quark forces.

One of the key characteristics of quark forces is their dependence on distance. As you mentioned, when quarks move away from the center of a particle, the attraction force on them increases. This is due to the nature of the strong nuclear force, which is a short-range force. As the distance between quarks increases, the force becomes stronger in order to keep them bound together.

To understand why this happens, we need to look at the mechanism behind the strong nuclear force. It is mediated by particles called gluons, which act as carriers of the force between quarks. As the distance between quarks increases, the exchange of gluons becomes more frequent and intense, resulting in a stronger force.

If an extreme amount of energy is used to move quarks away to a decent distance, the force between them will continue to increase. This is because the energy input will lead to the creation of more gluons, thus intensifying the force.

At the same time, it is important to note that the strong nuclear force has a limited range. This means that at a certain distance, the force will become too weak to keep the quarks bound together. At this point, the quarks will break apart and form new particles.

When quarks are in direct contact with each other, there is still a force acting on them. This is because the strong nuclear force is not just about attraction, but also about confinement. It keeps the quarks tightly bound together, and as a result, they cannot exist as individual particles.

In conclusion, the force between quarks is a dynamic and distance-dependent phenomenon. As they move away from each other, the force increases due to the exchange of gluons, and at a certain distance, it becomes too weak to keep them bound together. It is this interplay between attraction and distance that gives rise to the fascinating properties of quark forces.