Contents

# Contents

## Idea

In the standard model of particle physics the top quark is the up-type quark in the third generation of fermions.

It is the fundamental particle with by far the largest rest mass (after Higgs mechanism). This implies that top quark virtual particles in Feynman diagrams typically gives the dominant contribution to loop effects in perturbative quantum observables, notably in relation to the Higgs field.

flavors of fundamental fermions in the
standard model of particle physics
generation of fermions1st generation2nd generation3d generation
quarks
up-typeup quarkcharm quarktop quark
down-typedown quarkstrange quarkbottom quark
leptons
chargedelectronmuontauon
neutralelectron neutrinomuon neutrinotau neutrino

## References

The top quark discovery was announced jointly in

• F. Abe et al. (CDF Collaboration), Observation of Top Quark Production in $\bar p p$ Collisions with the Collider Detector at Fermilab, Phys. Rev. Lett. 74, 2626 – Published 3 April 1995 (doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.74.2626)

• S. Abachi et al. (D0 Collaboration), Observation of the Top Quark, Phys. Rev. Lett. 74, 2632 – Published 3 April 1995 (doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.74.2632)