Dictionary Definition
squark n : a quark with an electric charge of
-1/3 and a mass 988 times that of an electron and a strangeness of
-1 [syn: strange
quark]
User Contributed Dictionary
Pronunciation
/skwɑːk/Noun
- A hypothetical supersymmetric counterpart to a quark, having a spin of 0 instead of one-half.
Extensive Definition
In particle
physics, a sfermion is any of the class of spin-0
superpartners of
ordinary fermions
appearing in supersymmetric extensions
to the Standard
Model. Thus, the sfermions include the squarks and the
sleptons.
Fundamental sfermions
Squark
Squark is a hypothetical boson superpartner of a quark whose existence is implied by supersymmetry.Slepton
Slepton is a hypothetical boson superpartner of a lepton whose existence is implied by supersymmetry. Sleptons have the same flavour and electric charge as corresponding leptons and their spin is zero. In an exactly supersymmetric world they also must have the same mass, but thus far such a particle has not been observed. If they exist, supersymmetry must be broken and their mass is beyond current experimental reach.Examples include
- selectron, which is superpartner of an electron
- smuon, which is superpartner of an muon
- stau, which is superpartner of an tau lepton
- sneutrino, which is superpartners of an neutrino.