Editing Particle physics (section)

=== Bosons ===
{{Main|Boson}}

Bosons are the [[Force carrier|mediators or carriers]] of fundamental interactions, such as [[electromagnetism]], the [[weak interaction]], and the [[strong interaction]].<ref name="DarkMatter">{{cite book |author=Carroll, Sean |authorlink = Sean M. Carroll | title=Guidebook |publisher=The Teaching Company |year=2007 |isbn=978-1598033502 |series=Dark Matter, Dark Energy: The dark side of the universe |at=Part&nbsp;2, p.&nbsp;43 |quote=...&nbsp;boson: A force-carrying particle, as opposed to a matter particle (fermion). Bosons can be piled on top of each other without limit. Examples are photons, gluons, gravitons, weak bosons, and the Higgs boson. The spin of a boson is always an integer: 0, 1, 2, and so on&nbsp;...}}</ref> Electromagnetism is mediated by the [[photon]], the [[Quantum|quanta]] of [[light]].<ref>"Role as gauge boson and polarization" §5.1 in {{cite book |last1=Aitchison |first1=I. J. R. |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=ZJ-ZY8NW9TIC}} |title=Gauge Theories in Particle Physics |last2=Hey |first2=A. J. G. |publisher=[[IOP Publishing]] |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-85274-328-7}}</ref>{{rp|29–30}} The weak interaction is mediated by the [[W and Z bosons]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Peter |last=Watkins |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J808AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA70 |title=Story of the W and Z |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=1986 |isbn=9780521318754 |location=Cambridge |page=70 |access-date=28 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114055111/http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=J808AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA70 |archive-date=14 November 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> The strong interaction is mediated by the [[gluon]], which can link quarks together to form composite particles.<ref name="HyperPhysics">{{cite web |author=Nave |first=C. R. |title=The Color Force |url=http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/forces/color.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181007142048/http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/Forces/color.html |archive-date=7 October 2018 |access-date=2012-04-02 |work=[[HyperPhysics]] |publisher=[[Georgia State University]], Department of Physics}}</ref> Due to the aforementioned color confinement, gluons are never observed independently.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal |last=Debrescu |first=B. A. |year=2005 |title=Massless Gauge Bosons Other Than The Photon |journal=[[Physical Review Letters]] |volume=94 |issue=15 |page=151802 |arxiv=hep-ph/0411004 |bibcode=2005PhRvL..94o1802D |doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.94.151802 |pmid=15904133 |s2cid=7123874}}</ref> The [[Higgs boson]] gives mass to the W and Z bosons via the [[Higgs mechanism]]<ref name="PDG">{{cite web |author1=Bernardi, G. |author2=Carena, M. |author3=Junk, T. |year=2007 |title=Higgs bosons: Theory and searches |url=http://pdg.lbl.gov/2008/reviews/higgs_s055.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003190309/http://pdg.lbl.gov/2008/reviews/higgs_s055.pdf |archive-date=3 October 2018 |access-date=28 July 2022 |series=Review: Hypothetical particles and Concepts |publisher=Particle Data Group}}</ref> – the gluon and photon are expected to be [[Massless particle|massless]].<ref name=":0" /> All bosons have an integer quantum spin (0 and 1) and can have the same [[quantum state]].<ref name="DarkMatter" />