布鲁克海文国家实验室的STAR探测器通过相对论重离子对撞机（RHIC）的碰撞数据，发现了质子内部物质结构的新证据1。研究表明，质子内的重子数并非仅由三个夸克携带，而是由连接夸克的Y形胶子结点携带1。这一发现已于2026年8月16日公布，并在《科学》杂志上发表1。
该研究对几十年来的标准物理模型提出了挑战1。观测数据显示，所测得的重子数约为基于停止夸克电荷预测值的两倍1。STAR合作组成员Zhangbu Xu指出："重子数不是简单地由个别夸克携带，而是更有利地由胶子在特殊配置下携带和传输"1。这一机制解释了质子的长期稳定性。
该发现对理解物质稳定性和宇宙中物质-反物质失衡具有重要意义1。胶子在保持物质稳定性方面发挥了关键作用1。相关胶子结点的理论概念最早在1970年代被提出，1996年Dmitri Kharzeev曾建议这些结点可能携带重子数，而本次STAR实验的观测则为这一理论假设提供了实验证据1。
Researchers at Brookhaven National Laboratory have identified evidence that baryon number—a fundamental property of matter—may be carried not solely by individual quarks, but by gluons arranged in a distinctive Y-shaped configuration within protons 1. The discovery, made through analysis of collision data from the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) and announced on August 16, 2026, challenges decades of established textbook models 1.
The STAR detector collaboration observed that the baryon number detected in their experiments was approximately twice what theory would predict based on the charge of stopped quarks alone 1. This excess suggests that gluons in special configurations play a previously unrecognized role in carrying and transporting baryon number. According to Zhangbu Xu, a leading researcher on the project, "baryon number is not simply carried by individual quarks, but is more favorably carried and transported by gluons in special configurations" 1. While the theoretical concept of such gluon nodes was first proposed in the 1970s and Dmitri Kharzeev suggested in 1996 that they could carry baryon number, this represents the first empirical evidence supporting the hypothesis 1.
The findings have significant implications for understanding the stability of matter itself. Nicole Lewis emphasized that the discovery helps explain why "the proton's lifetime is longer than the age of the universe," providing crucial insight into the mechanisms that ensure matter remains stable and addressing longstanding questions about the matter-antimatter imbalance in the cosmos 1. The research has been published in Science, 2026; 393 (6812): 727 1.
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