What is Bosons: Definition and 223 Discussions

In quantum mechanics, a boson (, ) is a particle that follows Bose–Einstein statistics. Bosons make up one of two classes of elementary particles, the other being fermions. The name boson was coined by Paul Dirac to commemorate the contribution of Satyendra Nath Bose, an Indian physicist and professor of physics at University of Calcutta and at University of Dhaka in developing, with Albert Einstein, Bose–Einstein statistics, which theorizes the characteristics of elementary particles.Examples of bosons are fundamental particles such as photons, gluons, and W and Z bosons (the four force-carrying gauge bosons of the Standard Model), the recently discovered Higgs boson, and the hypothetical graviton of quantum gravity. Some composite particles are also bosons, such as mesons and stable nuclei of even mass number such as deuterium (with one proton and one neutron, atomic mass number = 2), helium-4, and lead-208; as well as some quasiparticles (e.g. Cooper pairs, plasmons, and phonons).An important characteristic of bosons is that there is no restriction on the number of them that occupy the same quantum state. This property is exemplified by helium-4 when it is cooled to become a superfluid. Unlike bosons, two identical fermions cannot occupy the same quantum state. Whereas the elementary particles that make up matter (i.e. leptons and quarks) are fermions, the elementary bosons are force carriers that function as the 'glue' holding matter together. This property holds for all particles with integer spin (s = 0, 1, 2, etc.) as a consequence of the spin–statistics theorem.
When a gas of Bose particles is cooled down to temperatures very close to absolute zero, then the kinetic energy of the particles decreases to a negligible amount, and they condense into the lowest energy level state. This state is called a Bose–Einstein condensate. This property is also the explanation for superfluidity.

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  1. K

    Explaining the Massive Vector Bosons' Masses

    "Massive" bosons I just read in Stephen Hawking's "A Brief History of Time" that particles of integer spin are the force-carrying ones, with no mass. Further on, he states that the massive vector bosons, namely W+, W- and Z0 are vector bosons with masses of around 100 GeV. He gives no...
  2. A

    Playing with Bosons: Exploring Feynman Lectures Vol. 3, Ch. 6 & 5

    Hi folks, I just read the Feynman Lectures Vol 3, Chapter 6 about spin 1/2 particles going through various arrangements of Stern-Gerlach filters. I think I get it, but I'm not sure why the same arguments don't apply to the spin 1 particles in the preceding chapter. The chapter goes...
  3. N

    Two Bosons in a Box: Is it 2/3?

    Say we have a small box with two physically identical bosons in it. Is it true that if I partition the box in two equal parts, it's more likely (2/3 chance) I'll have both particles at the same side? (Note: classicaly there's "only" a 50% chance of them being together)
  4. P

    What kind of bosons can have Bose-Einstein Condensation?

    I notice that some bosons can exhibit Bose-Einstein condensation while others cannot (photons, phonons). Is it true that the bosons can have BEC only when the total number of particles is conserved? In this case, the chemical potential approaches zero at T_c, and particles begin to cluster...
  5. E

    Why are W and Z bosons considered force carriers?

    This question has always somewhat perplexed me; if the W and Z boson are force carriers, then why arnt cannon balls force carriers too? Ive read before that the line between force carrier and matter is somewhat arbitrary, but what makes the W and Z fall on the force-carrier side? Sure, they...
  6. M

    Why are gauge fields bosons and always spin-1?

    Got a quick question on gauge particles: why are they always spin-1? Is it because they are introduced into theories in the form \partial_mu +cA^mu, and hence must be vectors (given that the derivative they have to compensate is a vector?)
  7. T

    Are W and Z Bosons Considered Gauge Bosons?

    I've left particle physics after my diploma a few years ago so I am not familiar with all of the slang, anymore. My question is pretty simple: How common is it to call the W and the Z boson "gauge bosons" in professional physics. Is it pretty much not used and seen as a sign of the person...
  8. Y

    Z bosons from radioactive elements?

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  9. S

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  10. jaketodd

    What do Bosons travel through?

    Do Bosons travel just through each other, or through matter as well? Thanks, Jake
  11. T

    Gravity's Impact on W and Z Bosons

    What affect does gravity have on W and Z bosons?
  12. T

    Configurations for Non-Interacting Particles with Total Energy of 2E

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  13. P

    Question on a Hypothetical Interaction- Minimum Energy- Bosons

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  14. MTd2

    Unification of gravity, gauge fields, and Higgs bosons

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  15. FeDeX_LaTeX

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    Hello; What are the functions of the W+, W- and Z0 bosons? They are responsible for radioactive beta decay, but what do each of these bosons do? Thanks.
  16. N

    Black Hole particles - acting as bosons?

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  17. H

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  18. M

    Fermions must be described by antisymmetric and bosons by symmetric

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  19. R

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  20. R

    Kaluza Klein, Goldstone Bosons, symmetries obliging masslessness?

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  21. M

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  22. D

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  23. K

    Apparently, Higgs bosons created in an alternative future can alter the present.

    http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2009/10/is-a-time-travelling-higgs-sab.html Can you believe this? I guess we all need a good laugh every once in a while.
  24. P

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    All number of bosons in case of Bose condensation is N=N_0+\sum_{\vec{p}\neq 0}N_{\vec{p}} I found in one book that N_0=\hat{b}^+_0\hat{b}_0 In that book author say that \hat{b}^+_0\hat{b}_0=N_0 and \hat{b}_0\hat{b}^+_0=N_0+1\approx N_0 so [\hat{b}_0,\hat{b}^+_0]\approx 0 and...
  25. marcus

    Unifying Gravity, Gauge Interactions & Higgs Bosons: Smolin & Speziale

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  26. A

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  27. W

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  28. W

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  29. F

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  30. T

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  31. H

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  32. V

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    Hello, I am stuck on the first part of this question. There are several parts that follow that depend on this bit, and I know I can do them if I can just work this out. Any help would be gratefully received. Homework Statement Consider an isolated system of N identical spin-0 bosons...
  33. M

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  34. W

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    I'm learning QFT by reading Lewis Ryder's book, so my question in short is: how he arrives at Eq 7.57 and Eq 7.58? If you don't have the book, the question is: why are there Minkowski metric terms in the Feynman rules for a gauge field coupling to itself? If the answer is complicated, simply...
  35. N

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  36. B

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  37. A

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  38. Q

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    need help, I'm reading that W bosons are 80 GeV, but they are components of protons of ~1 GEV. Makes no sense. Is the 80 GeV the mass/energy of the particle if it is outside the proton? If so what is the mass/energy as a transfer particle within the proton. If you subtract the mass...
  39. B

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    If two boson are each composed of two identical fermions in opposite spin states, can the composite bosons occupy the same state? If so wouldn't that cause their fermions to also occupy identical states? (Certainly, they can't occupy four different spin states, can they?)
  40. M

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  41. A

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  42. T

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  43. S

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  44. F

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  45. C

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    There is something very fundamental I am missing here. The photon is said to be chargeless. If that is the case, how does it carry the electromagnetic force? Thank you.
  46. Q

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    At page 52 of 4th chapter in "An Introduction to gauge theories & modern particle physics" by Leader & Predazzi one can find such statement: "We must therefore rearrange (4.2.4) so that we can identify the field that multiplies\frac{1}{2}\left(1+\tau_{3}\right) as gauge boson that remains...
  47. L

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  48. W

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  49. A

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  50. P

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