My watch list

Glueball

In particle physics, a glueball is a strongly interacting particle containing no valence quarks. It is composed entirely of gluons. Such a state is possible because gluons carry color charge and experience the strong interaction. Glueballs are extremely difficult to identify in particle accelerators, because they mix with ordinary meson states.

Additional recommended knowledge

Daily Visual Balance Check

Correct Test Weight Handling Guide: 12 Practical Tips

What is the Correct Way to Check Repeatability in Balances?

Theoretical calculations show that glueballs should exist at energy ranges accessible with current collider technology. However, due to the mentioned difficulty, they have so far not been observed and identified with certainty.

v • d • e Particles in physics
Elementary particles	Fermions: Quarks: u · d · s · c · b · t • Leptons: e^- · e⁺ · μ^- · μ⁺ · τ^- · τ⁺ · ν_e · ν_μ · ν_τ Bosons: Gauge bosons: γ · g · W^± · Z⁰ Other: Ghosts
Composite particles	Hadrons: Baryons(list)/Hyperons/Nucleons: p · n · Δ · Λ · Σ · Ξ · Ω · Ξ_b • Mesons(list)/Quarkonia: π · K · ρ · J/ψ · Υ Other: Atomic nuclei • Atoms • Exotic atoms: Positronium • Molecules
Hypothetical elementary particles	Superpartners: Axino · Dilatino · Chargino · Gluino · Gravitino · Higgsino · Neutralino · Sfermion · Slepton · Squark Other: Axion · Dilaton · Goldstone boson · Graviton · Higgs boson · Tachyon · X · Y · W' · Z'
	Exotic hadrons: Exotic baryons: Pentaquark • Exotic mesons: Glueball · Tetraquark Other: Mesonic molecule
Quasiparticles	Davydov soliton · Exciton · Magnon · Phonon · Plasmon · Polariton · Polaron