W boson

British  

noun

1. physics another name for W particle

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W boson Scientific  

1. A subatomic particle with positive electric charge that mediates the weak nuclear force. The W boson has a mass 160,000 times that of the electron. Unlike the other weak force mediator (the Z boson), the W boson changes particles it interacts with into other kinds of particles; for example, in beta-plus decay (a kind of beta decay), an up quark in a proton decays into a down quark by emitting a W boson, changing the proton into a neutron. The W boson itself decays into a positron and an electron neutrino.

2. See Table at subatomic particle

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Example Sentences

The electromagnetic force is conveyed by the photon, the strong force by the gluon, and the weak force by particles called the W boson and Z boson.

From Science Magazine • Mar. 27, 2024

The remaining hopeful hints of new physics include a measurement that found the mass of a particle called the W boson to be greater than expected, announced in April.

From Scientific American • Dec. 22, 2022

The mass of the W boson is connected to the masses of other particles, including the infamous Higgs.

From New York Times • Jun. 13, 2022

And the weak interaction can't occur without help from a W boson.

From Salon • Apr. 14, 2022

Figure 33.25 In the Tevatron accelerator at Fermilab, protons and antiprotons collide at high energies, and some of those collisions could result in the production of a Higgs boson in association with a W boson.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015