Majorana, Heisenberg, the exchange interaction and the Yukawa meson: the birthplace of the strong interaction

This work presents an approach to the works of Heisenberg, Majorana and Yukawa, developed between 1933 and 1938. These works delimit the transition from modern physics, based on the quantum theory of the 1920s, to one of the components of contemporary physics, namely elementary particle physics. The narrative’s central focus is the historical context of the development of the concepts of exchange interaction and strong interaction and the emergence of the concept of nuclear field and the quantum associated with it, the meson. The conceptual approach is consistent with a didactic transposition scenario for modern physics and quantum theory subjects offered in undergraduate physics, as well as for the subject of contemporary physics offered in the National Professional Master’s Degree in Physics Teaching (MNPEF).

Keywords:
Majorana; Heisenberg; Strong interaction; Contemporary physics; Particle physics