Flavor Physics
Flavor physics is a branch of particle physics that studies the different types, or "flavors," of quarks and leptons, which are fundamental particles. These flavors include up, down, charm, strange, top, and bottom quarks, as well as electron, muon, and tau leptons. Understanding how these particles interact and transform into one another helps scientists explore the fundamental forces of nature.
One of the key aspects of flavor physics is the study of CP violation, which refers to the differences in behavior between particles and their antiparticles. This phenomenon is crucial for explaining the matter-antimatter asymmetry in the universe. Experiments at facilities like the Large Hadron Collider and B factories aim to uncover new insights into these interactions and the underlying principles of the universe.