Quark model (source code)

= Quark model
{wiki}

Ordinary <baryons> have three valence <quarks>, and ordinary <mesons> have a <quark> and an <antiquark>. Additive quantum numbers such as <electric charge>, <baryon number> and <strangeness> are sums of constituent values. This valence description organizes <flavor symmetry> multiplets while allowing sea constituents and gluons.

The <quark model> makes a large catalogue manageable: the same few <quark flavors> generate many different <hadrons>. It predicts relations between <electric charge>, <strangeness> and <isospin>, rather than assigning these independently to each new particle. It is especially useful for asking which combinations are possible and which additional measurements could distinguish them. A constituent list alone does not determine a <mass>, a decay rate or whether a proposed combination forms a <bound state>.