WZBosonen

WZ Bosonen are the mediators of the weak nuclear force in the Standard Model of particle physics. They consist of the charged W+ and W− bosons and the neutral Z0 boson. The W bosons carry electric charge and mediate charged current interactions, while the Z boson mediates neutral current interactions that do not change electric charge. Together, they are the gauge bosons of the electroweak force.

Origin and masses arise from the spontaneous breaking of the electroweak symmetry by the Higgs field. The W and Z bosons acquire mass, while the photon remains massless. Their masses satisfy the relation M_W = M_Z cos θ_W, where θ_W is the weak mixing angle. Current measurements place M_W at about 80.379 GeV and M_Z at about 91.188 GeV; the corresponding decay widths are roughly Γ_W ≈ 2.085 GeV and Γ_Z ≈ 2.495 GeV. The W and Z couplings to fermions differ: the W couples to left-handed fermions with charged-current interactions, while the Z couples to vector and axial-vector currents.

Production and decays are studied extensively in high-energy experiments. W bosons decay to lepton-neutrino pairs (eν, μν, τν) and to quark pairs, while Z bosons decay to charged lepton pairs, neutrino pairs, and quark pairs. Precision measurements of W and Z properties have been crucial tests of the electroweak sector and have constrained physics beyond the Standard Model, including the Higgs sector and potential new interactions.

The WZ bosons thus play a central role in understanding weak interactions and the unification of electromagnetic and weak forces.