Eightfold Way (physics)

As Eightfold Way ( engl. the Eightfold Path, following the eightfold path of Buddhism to wisdom ) a classification of hadrons in the framework of quantum chromodynamics is called. Murray Gell-Mann and Yuval Ne'eman they proposed in 1961 independently to classify the newly discovered strange particles in the system of known particles. The Eightfold Path is considered the forerunner of the quark model.

The SU (2 ) symmetry group of the isospin for SU (3) -flavor expands, the mesons and baryons with spin 1/2 each as an octet ( octet ) may be placed in the frame.

Baryons with spin 3/2 can be arranged in a decuplet, with the help of which the Ω - let predict particle before its experimental discovery.

The Eightfold Path is now explained as a consequence of the flavor symmetries of the different varieties of quarks. Because the strong interaction, regardless of the flavor at all quarks acts equally, the mass of a hadron will stay about the same, if one exchanges one of its quarks. Mathematically, an exchange by a group operation in SU (3 ) is expressed as. The octet and Dekupletts are then representations of this group.