(particle physics, Standard Model) Any elementary or composite particle that has half-integer spin and thus obeys Fermi–Dirac statistics and the Pauli exclusion principle (equivalently, a particle for which the wavefunction of any system of identical such particles changes sign whenever two are swapped); a baryon, a lepton or a quark;
Used in a Sentence
fermions
Definition, parts of speech, synonyms, and sentence examples for fermions.
Editorial note
Of the 2 classes, fermions and bosons, only fermions can be their own antiparticles.
Examples19
Definitions1
Parts of speech1
Quick take
(particle physics, Standard Model) Any elementary or composite particle that has half-integer spin and thus obeys Fermi–Dirac statistics and the Pauli exclusion principle (equivalently, a particle for which the wavefunction of any system of identical such particles changes sign whenever two are swapped); a baryon, a lepton or a quark;
Meaning at a glance
The clearest senses and uses of fermions gathered in one view.
Definitions
Core meanings and parts of speech for fermions.
noun
(particle physics, Standard Model) Any elementary or composite particle that has half-integer spin and thus obeys Fermi–Dirac statistics and the Pauli exclusion principle (equivalently, a particle for which the wavefunction of any system of identical such particles changes sign whenever two are swapped); a baryon, a lepton or a quark;
Example sentences
Of the 2 classes, fermions and bosons, only fermions can be their own antiparticles.
Weyl fermions obey the Weyl equation, and Majorana fermions the Majorana equation.
Majorana fermions are their own anti-particles, while Weyl fermions are not.
What these people have done is a way of arranging some electrons such that they behave like Majorana fermions.
What isn't fixed is the gauge group, the precise way Fermions couple to each other etc.
If that's the case, they can acquire mass in a different way than all other fermions.
One then immediately gets bosons and there is a principle which guides one to fermions.
Usually you think of two different types of particles, fermions and bosons which loosely correspond to matter and force mediating particles.
There is no rule requiring antiparticles to also have spin 1/2, nor that they in general be n+1/2 spin particles (fermions).
First, let's start with how fermions (spin 1/2 particles like electrons and quarks) get mass.
There is still some debate about whether neutrinos are Weyl or Majorana fermions.
Neutrinos are fermions, so they could get their mass in the same way.
Quote examples
So a less mystifying way to describe the achievement of "making Weyl fermions" is simply "making massless fermions".
Other incorrect statements that confused me for a long time include: "Fermions cannot occupy the same quantum state.
That aside, there is a mathematically well-defined sense in which Weyl fermions are the most "fundamental" fermions: the other kinds you hear about, Dirac and Majorana, can all be written as combinations of Weyl fermions.
This causes an “apparent repulsion” in the fermions gasses and an “apparent traction”.
Proper noun examples
Fermions take a little more work, essentially using a vector bundle approach analogous to Mobius strips.
Fermions can have balistic trajectories too, that's not news.
Fermions in this circumstance are described as unitary.
Frequently asked questions
Short answers drawn from the clearest meanings and examples for this word.
How do you use fermions in a sentence?
Of the 2 classes, fermions and bosons, only fermions can be their own antiparticles.
What does fermions mean?
(particle physics, Standard Model) Any elementary or composite particle that has half-integer spin and thus obeys Fermi–Dirac statistics and the Pauli exclusion principle (equivalently, a particle for which the wavefunction of any system of identical such particles changes sign whenever two are swapped); a baryon, a lepton or a quark;
What part of speech is fermions?
fermions is commonly used as noun.