subnucleaire

Subnucleaire, also known as subnuclear physics, refers to the physics of phenomena at scales smaller than the atomic nucleus. It investigates the internal structure of nucleons (protons and neutrons) and the interactions among their fundamental constituents—quarks and gluons—as well as the properties and interactions of hadrons, the composite particles made from quarks bound by the strong force. The field lies at the intersection of nuclear physics and particle physics and is described primarily within the framework of the Standard Model.

Key theoretical tools include Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), which governs the interactions of quarks and gluons, and the electroweak theory for electromagnetic and weak processes. Because the strong force becomes nonperturbative at low energies, lattice QCD and effective field theories are essential for calculating hadron properties and nuclear effects. At high energies, the parton model and perturbative QCD describe scattering processes and jet formation.

Experiments use particle accelerators and detectors to probe subnuclear structure and dynamics. Deep inelastic scattering, proton–proton and heavy-ion collisions, and electron–ion colliders provide information on parton distributions, form factors, resonance spectra, and the emergence of hadronization. Phenomena studied include hadron spectroscopy, the behavior of quark–gluon plasma in extreme conditions, and the search for exotic states such as multiquark hadrons.

Subnuclear research informs our understanding of matter under extreme conditions, the early universe, and the internal composition of neutron stars, while also contributing to advances in detector technology and computational methods.