Elementary Bosons
See also: List of particles: Bosons - Particles described by Bose–Einstein statisticsAll observed elementary particles are either fermions or bosons. The observed elementary bosons are all gauge bosons: photons, W and Z bosons and gluons.
- Photons are the force carriers of the electromagnetic field.
- W and Z bosons are the force carriers which mediate the weak force.
- Gluons are the fundamental force carriers underlying the strong force.
In addition, the standard model postulates the existence of Higgs bosons, which give other particles their mass via the Higgs mechanism. As of July 2012, scientists at the LHC believe they may have observed these particles, although further tests are needed to confirm this discovery. Since the Higgs field is a scalar field, the Higgs boson has no spin. The Higgs boson is also its own antiparticle and is CP-even, and has zero electric and color charge.
Finally, many approaches to quantum gravity postulate a force carrier for gravity, the graviton, which is a boson of spin 2.
Read more about this topic: Bosön
Famous quotes containing the word elementary:
“If men as individuals surrender to the call of their elementary instincts, avoiding pain and seeking satisfaction only for their own selves, the result for them all taken together must be a state of insecurity, of fear, and of promiscuous misery.”
—Albert Einstein (1879–1955)