The glue that binds a proton may be key to its identity

Scientists have long assumed that quarks, the tiny particles inside a proton, carry a property called baryon number, which defines what a proton is and keeps it stable. But new research from the STAR collaboration suggests baryon number actually lives in a Y-shaped gluon structure called a baryon junction. Collision data from Brookhaven's heavy ion collider matched the gluon model better, though researchers say more work is needed to confirm it.