When an electron collides with quarks, the specific outcome depends on the energy of the collision and the nature of the interaction between the particles. In particle physics, such collisions are studied using high-energy particle accelerators like the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).
In general, electrons are classified as leptons, while quarks are classified as hadrons. Electrons are elementary particles with a negative charge, and they do not experience the strong nuclear force, which is responsible for binding quarks inside protons and neutrons. Quarks, on the other hand, are the fundamental constituents of protons and neutrons and interact through the strong nuclear force.
If a high-energy electron collides with a quark, several possibilities can arise:
Elastic scattering: The electron and quark exchange momentum and change direction but remain intact. This occurs when the collision energy is not sufficient to produce new particles or break apart the quark constituents.
Inelastic scattering: The collision energy is sufficient to excite or ionize the quark or to produce new particles. In this case, the electron may transfer energy to the quark, leading to the production of additional particles or the fragmentation of the quark into a spray of particles (a process known as hadronization).
Resonance production: If the collision energy is close to a resonance energy level, the electron and quark can combine to form a short-lived excited state known as a resonance. The resonance can subsequently decay into other particles.
Quark annihilation: If the collision energy is high enough, the electron and quark can annihilate each other, resulting in the production of other particles such as photons, W bosons, or Z bosons.
It's important to note that the detailed outcomes of electron-quark collisions are studied experimentally using particle accelerators, and the observations are compared with theoretical models such as quantum chromodynamics (QCD), which describes the strong interactions between quarks. The specific results depend on the energy, angle, and initial state of the collision, as well as the properties of the particles involved.