| a quantum field theory that describes quarks and gluons and their interactions, with the color of the quarks playing a role analogous to that of electric charge. Abbreviation: QCD Also called chromodynamics. Compare color (def. 18). |
| quantum chromodynamics
A quantum field theory of the strong force that explains the interaction between particles with color charge, such as quarks and gluons. In quantum chromodynamics, particles interact through the strong force by exchanging gluons, which are the carriers of the strong force (much as photons are the carriers of the electromagnetic force in quantum electrodynamics). The theory is particularly important in theories of the atomic nucleus, whose nucleons are composed of quarks. |