Lepton
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A lepton is a spin 1/2 elementary particle that is not subject to the strong nuclear force. There are six leptons (apart from their antiparticles), sometimes referred to as flavors of lepton:[1] the electron, muon, tau and their associated neutrinos. Leptons can possess electric charge as in the case of the electron (e−), muon (μ−) and tau (τ−) (all negatively charged), and the corresponding antileptons (all positively charged), or can be electric charge neutral like the electron neutrino (νe), muon neutrino (νμ), or tau neutrino (ντ).[2][3]
Having spin 1/2, all leptons are fermions.[4]
References
- ↑ Mark Allen Srednicki (2007). “Table 88.1: The six flavors of lepton.”, Quantum Field Theory. Cambridge University Press, p. 549. ISBN 0521864496.
- ↑ WN Cottingham, DA Greenwood (2007). “Table 1.2: Leptons”, An introduction to the Standard Model of particle physics, 2nd ed. Cambridge University Press, p. 3. ISBN 978-0-521-85249-4.
- ↑ Helen R. Quinn, Yossi Nir (2010). The Mystery of the Missing Antimatter. Princeton University Press, p. 98. ISBN 1400835712.
- ↑ Don Lincoln (2004). Understanding the universe: from quarks to the cosmos. World Scientific, p. 143. ISBN 9812387056.