What role do gluons play in the Standard Model?

Gluons are responsible for holding quarks together to form protons, neutrons and other particles.

Gluons are the force carriers of the strong nuclear force, which is one of the four fundamental forces in the Standard Model of particle physics. The strong force is responsible for holding quarks together to form protons, neutrons and other particles. Gluons are unique among force carriers in that they carry the force they mediate, meaning that they can interact with each other. This property leads to the phenomenon of confinement, which means that quarks cannot exist as free particles but are always bound together in groups.

Gluons come in eight different types, or "colours", which are analogous to the three primary colours of light. Quarks also come in three "colours", and the strong force between them is mediated by the exchange of gluons of different colours. This interaction is described by the theory of quantum chromodynamics (QCD), which is a fundamental part of the Standard Model.

The study of gluons and the strong force is an active area of research in particle physics. Understanding the behaviour of the strong force is important for understanding the structure of matter and the properties of atomic nuclei. It also has implications for the study of high-energy cosmic rays and the behaviour of matter in extreme environments, such as the early universe and neutron stars.