StandardModel

The Standard Model of particle physics is a quantum field theory that describes the electromagnetic, weak, and strong interactions. It is based on the gauge group SU(3) × SU(2) × U(1) and includes fermions as matter fields, gauge bosons as force carriers, and a scalar Higgs field. The theory is renormalizable and has made numerous precise predictions that have been confirmed experimentally.

It lists fermions: quarks come in six flavors arranged in three generations: up, down; charm, strange; top, bottom; leptons: electron, muon, tau, and their corresponding neutrinos. Gauge bosons: photon for electromagnetism; W± and Z for weak interactions; gluons for the strong interaction. The Higgs boson is the quantum of the Higgs field responsible for electroweak symmetry breaking and giving mass to W, Z, charged fermions.

Electroweak theory unifies electromagnetic and weak forces; QCD describes strong interactions among color charges; fermion masses arise from Yukawa couplings to the Higgs field; neutrino masses require extensions; CKM matrix explains quark mixing and CP violation; coupling constants run with energy. The Higgs boson was discovered in 2012 at the LHC, confirming the mechanism of electroweak symmetry breaking.

The Standard Model does not include gravity and does not explain dark matter, dark energy, or the matter-antimatter asymmetry by itself. It also leaves several puzzles, such as the hierarchy problem. Nevertheless, it provides an exceptionally successful framework for understanding fundamental particles and their interactions up to current experimental energies.