Baryonique

Baryonique refers to phenomena, properties, or components related to baryons, a class of hadrons composed of three quarks. In the standard model of particle physics, baryons are fermions that participate in strong, electromagnetic, and weak interactions. The best-known baryons are the proton and the neutron, which form the atomic nucleus, with electrons surrounding the nucleus to make atoms. There are many heavier or short-lived baryons, such as the lambda or delta particles, produced in high-energy processes.

A key quantum number of baryons is the baryon number B: baryons have B = +1, antibaryons have B = −1, and mesons and leptons have B = 0. In ordinary conditions, baryon number is conserved in known interactions, though certain high-energy processes in the early universe can violate it briefly in theories beyond everyday phenomena.

Baryons form ordinary, or baryonic, matter. This contrasts with non-baryonic matter such as dark matter. In astrophysics and cosmology, the distribution of baryonic matter, including gas in galaxies and stars, is central to structure formation. In extreme environments like neutron stars, matter is almost entirely baryonic and reaches densities beyond atomic nuclei. In cosmology, baryogenesis refers to hypothetical processes that produced the observed excess of baryons over antibaryons after the Big Bang.

The term baryonique appears in French-language scientific writing as an adjective for anything related to baryons, and is used in discussions of hadron structure, nuclear physics, and cosmology.