Top quark physics

While the top quark was discovered in 1995 at the Fermilab Tevatron, a decade later they still have very little information about the top. As the heaviest particle yet discovered, the top quark is interesting in and of itself, but some speculate that it may play a special role in physics beyond the Standard Model. With Run 2 of the Tevatron well underway, they have the opportunity to study top quark properties with much better sensitivity, and to test whether top quarks behave as predicted by current theories. This article focuses on the basics of top quark physics at the Tevatron, highlighting only a sample of the many recent measurements, as new results are being released monthly, and constantly changing the landscape of our knowledge of top