W-boson
Key Stage 5
Meaning
W-bosons (W) are a type of boson which mediates the weak interaction when charge is exchanged between particles.
About W-bosons
- The W-boson is denoted with an upper case W.
- The W-boson may carry positive charge as the W+ or negative charge as the W-.
Examples
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| This Feynman Diagram shows the weak interaction in which a neutron decays into a proton. | This Feynman Diagram shows the weak interaction in which a proton decays into a neutron via positron emission. | This Feynman Diagram shows the weak interaction in which a proton captures an electron to become a neutron. |
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| This Feynman Diagram shows the weak interaction in which a down-quark decays into an up-quark. This appears as a neutron becoming a proton, electron and an antielectron-neutrino. | This Feynman Diagram shows the weak interaction in which an up-quark decays into a down-quark via positron emission. This appears as a proton becoming a neutron, positron and electron-neutrino. | This Feynman Diagram shows the weak interaction in which an up-quark captures an electron to become a neutron. This appears as a ground state electron becoming an electron-neutrino while a proton becomes a neutron. |