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Straight, wavy and coiled lines for different particles.
Also known as: Particle line conventions, Gluon coil
In a Feynman diagram a straight line with an arrow is a fermion, a wavy line a photon, a coiled line a gluon and a dashed line a scalar. The arrow shows the direction of particle number rather than of motion, and an antiparticle's arrow points backwards in time.
Distinguish particle types by line style: straight arrowed lines for fermions, wavy for photons, coiled for gluons and dashed for scalars.
Contexts: Laboratory
Use the arrow to show the flow of particle number rather than motion, so an antiparticle is drawn with its arrow reversed.
Contexts: Laboratory
Are calculational devices rather than pictures of paths, so reading a diagram as a trajectory through space is a misunderstanding of what it represents.
Contexts: Laboratory
Straight, wavy and coiled lines meeting at points, some carrying small arrowheads along their length.