Properties of the top quark
The top quark, the heaviest elementary particle known to date, was discovered by the CDF and D0 collaborations in 1995. In more than 25 years since the discovery the properties of the top quark have been studied in detail.
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Introduction
The top quark is one of six known quarks in the Standard Model theory. It is an 'up-type' quark, and is believed to have the same properties as the up (u) and charm (c) quarks, except for its mass.
The Standard Model of particle physics describes the interactions between the elementary building blocks of matter: quarks and leptons.
Six quark flavors, color charge and [1]
Top quark discovery
Top quark mass
The mass of the top quark is a free parameter of the Standard Model, and its value is not predicted directly by the theory. The exact value of its mass, however, has big consequences for how the top quark manifests itself in direct experimental observations and in the way it affects other particles and processes.
With an observed of 172.5 +- 0.3 GeV [] it is the heaviest point-like particle known, surpassing the Higgs boson (125.x +-y GeV), W () and Z () bosons. Compared to other fermions (quarks, charged leptons, neutrinos), the difference in mass is even more striking. The second-heaviest quark is the bottom quark, with a mass of XX+-YY GeV. As the mass is higher than the W boson mass + b quark mass combined, the top quark decay is able to decay to an on-shell W boson and a b-quark. It does so 99.x % of the time, with a very short lifetime of XX. the following plot (credit: tikz.org) compares mass and liftetime of elementary (and a few composite) particles known:
Top quark decay
Top quark interactions
Top quarks with a boost
Top quarks and Quantum Entanglement
Outlook
References
1. F.Abe et al., Phys.Rev.Lett. 74, 2626 (1995)
2. S.Abachi et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 74, 2632 (1995)
3. PDG review of top quark
4. CERN 'evidence' of top quark [2]
Recommended Reading
See Also
1. Symmetry Magazine (2007) Secrets of a Heavyweight
2. M. Cristinziani, M. Mulders (2016) Top-quark physics at the Large Hadron Collider
3. F. Deliot et al in Annual Review of Nuclear and Particle Science Properties of the Top Quark
4. Special Issue Universe (2023) Top Quark at the New Physics Frontier
5. P. Silva Review, Outlook and Road ahead
