Parton (source code)
= Parton
{wiki=Parton_(particle_physics)}
A parton is a constituent resolved inside a rapidly moving <hadron> by a hard scattering process. In <quantum chromodynamics>, the relevant partons are <quarks>, <antiquarks> and <gluons>. A <parton distribution function> describes the momentum-fraction distribution of a specified constituent at a stated resolution scale.
In <deep inelastic scattering>, a high-energy probe transfers enough <momentum> to resolve structure much smaller than the hadron. The <parton model> approximates the short collision as scattering from one constituent, with the remaining structure entering through its distribution. Which partons are resolved depends on the scale; increasing the resolution permits additional radiation and pair production. A parton is therefore not a permanently labeled classical bead inside the hadron, and the distributions are not probabilities for finding isolated free quarks.
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