Continued

As the quarks move apart, in frames 5 and 6, a color force field develops between them. The energy in the force field increases with the separation of the quarks. When there is sufficient energy in the force field (frame 6) the energy is converted into a quark and an antiquark. In frame 7, the u quark and the strange antiquark begin to separate.

In these frames, there is sufficient energy to produce another quark-antiquark pair (this time d quarks). In frame 10, the color-neutral mesons emerge: a pion (u anti-d) and two kaons (d anti-s, and s anti-u).

Each such decay yields a set of color-neutral particles made from the quarks that materialize from the energy in the color force field. Many different outcomes are possible.

Meson Chart Quarks Quark Interactions Quark Confinement

See all ten frames of this picture together.