ScienceAugust 16, 2026
hyperon
HY-per-on
Definition
A type of subatomic particle that belongs to the baryon family but, unlike protons and neutrons, contains at least one strange quark.
Etymology
Derived from the Greek 'hyper', meaning 'over' or 'beyond,' and the suffix '-on', used in physics for subatomic particles. It was coined to describe these particles because their mass is greater than that of a nucleon (protons and neutrons).
In the news
The article uses net-hyperon yields as a metric to test the baryon-junction theory, finding that the way these particles behave across different energy levels supports the idea that gluons, rather than just valence quarks, carry baryon number.
Proton collisions hint that gluons, not quarks, carry baryon number
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