Bosons Definition and 223 Threads

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?

    So I heard a little rumor that Beta decays in certain isotopes release an electron at "ultrarelativistic" speeds. I also heard a rumor that Z bosons can be created temporarily by a positron annihilating an electron when the two collide. My question is, can one place two highly...
  9. S

    Bosons and the Pauli Exclusion Principle

    Do bosons tend not to obey Pauli Exclusion Principle? I would appreciate if someone would send me some material about this question, and answer it as well.
  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

    Homework Statement List all possible configurations for distinguishable particles, identical bosons and identical fermions where the system has a total energy of 2E and contains two non-interacting particles. The energy-level structure is 0, 1ER, 1EL and 2E (where 1ER and 1EL are degenerate)...
  13. P

    Question on a Hypothetical Interaction- Minimum Energy- Bosons

    Homework Statement If there was a hypothetical interaction that occurs on, say, a scale of 10^{}-30m, where would one look for signatures of boson associated with this interaction. By that I mean what would the minimum energy be approximately where I would look for those signatures. Also...
  14. MTd2

    Unification of gravity, gauge fields, and Higgs bosons

    http://arxiv.org/abs/1004.4866 Unification of gravity, gauge fields, and Higgs bosons A. Garrett Lisi, Lee Smolin, Simone Speziale (Submitted on 27 Apr 2010) We consider a diffeomorphism invariant theory of a gauge field valued in a Lie algebra that breaks spontaneously to the direct sum...
  15. FeDeX_LaTeX

    Function of W+, W- and Z bosons?

    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?

    Black Hole "particles" - acting as bosons? I was wondering, though it may sound stupid, could the "particles" within a black hole, at the point where a singularity is deemed to be, by any chance act as bosons, such as the electrons do in a superconductor, or helium at low temps. I know these...
  17. H

    What is this H+ particle, is it related to the Higgs Bosons and is it proven?

    I am currently looking at a diagram of a top and anti top decay. The anti top decays into a weak boson and an anti bottom and the weak then decays into an electron and electron anti-neutrino. On the other side the top decays into a H+ particle and a bottom. What is this H+ particle, is it...
  18. M

    Fermions must be described by antisymmetric and bosons by symmetric

    :confused: friends, we know that fermions must be described by antisymmetric and bosons by symmetric wavefunctions. but i was wondering why a particle of certain class behaves like that for ever? ie. say, an electron will never behave like a boson ?? my book says that there is a spin...
  19. R

    Neutron-Neutrino collisions and the W bosons

    Hi, I have my AS physics exam tomorrow and the only thing on the syllabus I'm unsure of is the reaction between a neutron and a neutrino and also the reaction between an antineutrino and a proton. A Ve is an antineutrino, I can't work the overline codes :/ I've seen various feynman...
  20. R

    Kaluza Klein, Goldstone Bosons, symmetries obliging masslessness?

    Kaluza Klein, Goldstone Bosons, symmetries obliging masslessness? Hello physics people, I hope all is well, and that everyones feeling festive even though i don't celebrate xmas lol! Iv got some weird questions, at least for me. Iv been working on Kaluza-Klein theory and have found weird...
  21. M

    Understanding Gravitons: A Key to Quantum Gravity?

    Hello, I am about as far from a physicist as physically possible, but I am fascinated by the theory, so I've re-enrolled in some intro physics classes next semester. (I'm a Poli Sci/Pre-Law Undergrad). I've been reading a bit about the subject for some time now, and I'm a little confused...
  22. D

    Normalized state vector for bosons, Shankar problem

    Homework Statement Two identical bosons are found to be in states |\phi> and |\psi>. Write down the normalized state vector describing the system when <\phi|\psi>\neq0.Homework Equations The normalized state vector for two bosons with <\phi|\psi>=0, using the fact that...
  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

    All number of bosons in case of Bose condensation

    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

    A. Garrett Lisi, L. Smolin and S. Speziale, “Unification of gravity, gauge interactions and Higgs bosons in the extended Plebanski formalism,” to appear. This interesting reference was found in a recently posted preprint by Smolin and Speziale. (thanks to MTd2 for spotting the Smolin...
  26. A

    Couplings of fermions and bosons to the Higgs

    Homework Statement I have to show that the couplings to the Higgs ( W+ W- h , ZZh, hhh, and e+e-h) are proportional to the mass squared (for bosons) or mass (for fermions) of the particles. But according to this problem I don't have to explicitly construct the interaction terms in the...
  27. W

    Total angular momentum of N identical bosons

    assume that we have N spin-1 bosons all on the same spatial orbit. The problem is that what values the total angular momentum can be? I am puzzled by this problem for a long time maybe a bit permutation group theory is needed? i guess this type of problem is well solved Is there...
  28. W

    Total angular momentum of N identical bosons

    assume that we have N spin-1 bosons all on the same spatial orbit. The problem is that what values the total angular momentum can be? I am puzzled by this problem for a long time maybe a bit permutation group theory is needed? i guess this type of problem is well solved Is there...
  29. F

    Are black holes bosons or fermions?

    The question says it all. Black holes have mass, and they have angular momentum. - Is the angular momentum an integer or half an integer? Or neither/both? - What happens when two black holes are exchanged? François
  30. T

    Gauge Bosons and the Pion Particle

    Quick question. If particles that mediate interactions are called gauge bosons, why isn't Pion considered a gauge boson. I'm pretty sure I've come across a few interactions mediated by it.
  31. H

    C and P parity of gauge bosons - what are the values?

    Can somebody explain the parities of photons, W, Z and gluons? QFT says that bosons and antibosons have the same P parity. But the P parity of the gauge bosons is rarely given. Sometimes photons are said to have negative parity, while other say this is only the case for electric dipole...
  32. V

    How Do You Draw Diagrams for Bosons in Energy Levels?

    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

    Application of the harmonic oscillator to an arbitrary number of free bosons

    Aplication of the harmonic oscillator to an arbitrary number of free bosons Homework Statement I will like to know if my answer to this problem is correct and If not, what I am missing. Given a system with an arbitrary number of free bosons, where the hamiltonian for one particle with...
  34. W

    Feynman rules for vector bosons

    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

    Phonons vs Gauge Bosons: What's the Difference?

    Whats the difference between phonons and gauge bosons?
  36. B

    Identical bosons vs. fermions in square potential well

    The following Wolfram web page shows the probability density functions for two identical bosons in a square potential well. It also shows the probability density for two identical fermions. http://demonstrations.wolfram.com/WaveFunctionsOfIdenticalParticles/ So it appears that each is...
  37. A

    Probabilities for system of two bosons

    If there are two indistinguishable bosons that can either be in the |0> or |1> state, what is the probability that both will be in the |0> state? (ie the system will be in the |0>|0> state) I know there are only three possibilities for the total state of the system: |0>|0>, |1>|1>, and...
  38. Q

    Confused About W Bosons: Mass/Energy Inside and Outside Proton?

    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

    Composite Bosons: Same State? Fermion Implications

    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

    Vector currents, vector fields and bosons

    Consider this quote from Mandl and Shaw, p. 237 ...this interaction coulpes the field W_{\alpha}(x) to the leptonic vector current. Hence it must be a vector field, and the W particles are vector bosons with spin 1. Could someone explain this for me? I do not understand the "hence"...
  41. A

    Elementary Particles: Bosons & Fermions

    how many... till now how many elementary particles are disovered? what are bosons? what happens when fermions interact with bosons?
  42. T

    Discovering Bosons: The Fascinating World of Particle Physics Explained

    I've heard a lot about LHC and how one of it's goles is to make a higgs boson but i don't know what a boson even is so could someone give me an explanation about what a boson it and why pphysicst are so intersted in them? :confused:
  43. S

    Goldstone bosons 1st order phase transition

    Hi! I read in Zinn-Justin, that first order phase transitions always have a finite correlation length. Since correlation length is the inverse of the smallest physical mass within a model, this would mean that there can be no Goldstone bosons for a 1st order phase transition. How can that be...
  44. F

    Are the W bosons charged before symmetry breaking?

    When the SU(2) symmetry is broken by the Higgs mechanism, the W bosons acquire mass and become the well-known W^+ and W^- bosons discovered at CERN. So before the breaking, the Ws had no mass. Did they have charge? If yes: No particle is known without mass but with charge. Are the W...
  45. C

    How does the chargeless photon carry the electromagnetic force?

    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

    Coupling the gauge bosons to the Higgs scalars

    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

    Forces Mediated by Gauge Bosons: Valid Questions?

    Forces are mediated by gauge bosons. If, for instance, you look at a collision between 2 electrons, is there a definite/calculable number of photons exchanged? Do they have a particular frequency? Do we expect the same thing of gravitons? Does that mean the action of forces is quantized...
  48. W

    High-Energy Beams: Finding W & Z Bosons

    I read on http://cern-discoveries.web.cern.ch/cern-discoveries/Courier/HeavyLight/Heavylight.html that to find the W and Z bosons they used beams with 270 GeV of energy per beam. But the W and Z bosons have a mass of about 80/90 GeV, how come so high-energy beams was needed?
  49. A

    The difference between BOSONS and FERMIONS

    i have read and studyed that 1/ boson are identical particles having zero or integral spin and can not be distinguished because their wave function over lap and they do not obey Pauli Exclusion Principle means a huge number of bosons can exist inte same quantum state like photons.((EB)) 1/...
  50. P

    Gauge invariance and it's relation to gauge bosons

    Hello, I'm currently doing a project that is concerned with the hopeful discovery of the Higgs Boson at LHC. I'll be running some code that my supervisor has produced, but before that he wanted me to understand more of the physics that is behind the Higgs mechanism. He has proposed a...
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