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Quantum Chromodynamics, Quark Confinement, and Chiral Symmetry Breaking: A Bridge Between Elementary Particle Physics and Nuclear Physics

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Handbook of Nuclear Physics

Abstract

Quantum chromodynamics (QCD) is the fundamental theory of the strong interaction, and it is described as an SU(Nc) gauge theory of quarks and gluons. In spite of the simple form of QCD action, QCD alone creates various interesting physical phenomena and thousands of different hadrons. In this chapter, after a brief overview of QCD physics, two important properties of nonperturbative QCD, that is, color confinement and spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking, are reviewed, including both the basics and recent progress. Quark confinement in various hadrons is investigated in terms of inter-quark potentials, using lattice QCD, the first-principles calculation of the strong interaction. As a result, the flux-tube (or string) picture is found to be widely applicable to quark confinement in mesons, baryons, and multi-quark hadrons in QCD. This chapter also deals with related interesting topics, such as a possible connection between QCD and the quark model, the dual superconductor picture for the confinement mechanism, and the relation between quark confinement and chiral symmetry breaking.

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Acknowledgements

H.S. was supported in part by a Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research [19K03869] from Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.

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  1. Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

    Hideo Suganuma

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  1. Hideo Suganuma
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Correspondence to Hideo Suganuma .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Research Center for Nuclear Physics, Osaka University, Ibaraki, Osaka, Japan

    Isao Tanihata

  2. Research Center for Nuclear Physics, Osaka University, Ibaraki, Osaka, Japan

    Hiroshi Toki

  3. National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan

    Toshitaka Kajino

Section Editor information

  1. Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

    Hideo Suganuma

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Suganuma, H. (2023). Quantum Chromodynamics, Quark Confinement, and Chiral Symmetry Breaking: A Bridge Between Elementary Particle Physics and Nuclear Physics. In: Tanihata, I., Toki, H., Kajino, T. (eds) Handbook of Nuclear Physics . Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-8818-1_22-1

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