In particle physics, a boson ([ entry "Boson"]) is a subatomic particle whose spin quantum number has an integer value (0, 1, 2, ...). Bosons form one of the two fundamental classes of subatomic particle, the other being , which have half odd-integer spin (1/2, 3/2, 5/2, ...). Every observed subatomic particle is either a boson or a fermion. Paul Dirac coined the name boson to commemorate the contribution of Satyendra Nath Bose, an Indian physicist.
Some bosons are elementary particles occupying a special role in particle physics, distinct from the role of fermions (which are sometimes described as the constituents of "ordinary matter"). Certain elementary bosons (e.g. ) act as , which give rise to forces between other particles, while one (the Higgs boson) contributes to the phenomenon of mass. Other bosons, such as , are composite particles made up of smaller constituents.
Outside the realm of particle physics, multiple identical composite bosons behave at high densities or low temperatures in a characteristic manner described by Bose–Einstein statistics: for example, a gas of helium-4 atoms becomes a superfluid at temperatures close to absolute zero. Similarly, superconductivity arises because some , such as , behave in this characteristic manner.
Name
The name
boson was coined by
Paul Dirac to commemorate the contribution of Satyendra Nath Bose, an
Indian people physicist. When Bose was a reader (later
professor) at the University of Dhaka,
Bengal (now in
Bangladesh),
he and
Albert Einstein developed the theory characterising such particles, now known as Bose–Einstein statistics and Bose–Einstein condensate.
Elementary bosons
All observed elementary particles are either bosons (with integer spin) or
fermions (with odd half-integer spin).
Whereas the elementary particles that make up ordinary matter (
and
) are fermions, elementary bosons occupy a special role in particle physics. They act either as
which give rise to forces between other particles, or in one case give rise to the phenomenon of
mass.
According to the Standard Model of Particle Physics there are five elementary bosons:
-
One scalar boson (spin = 0)
-
Four (spin = 1) that act as force carriers. These are the :
-
photon – the force carrier of the electromagnetic field
-
(eight different types) – force carriers that mediate the strong force
-
neutral weak boson – the force carrier that mediates the weak interaction
-
charged weak bosons (two types) – also force carriers that mediate the weak force
-
A second-order tensor boson (spin = 2) called the graviton (G) has been hypothesised as the force carrier for gravity, but so far all attempts to incorporate gravity into the Standard Model have failed.
Composite bosons
Composite particles (such as
,
atomic nucleus, and
) can be bosons or fermions depending on their constituents. Since bosons have integer spin and fermions half odd-integer spin, any composite particle made up of an
even number of fermions is a boson (e.g., 1/2 + 1/2 + 1/2 + 1/2 = 2 for the three quarks and an electron in a hydrogen atom).
Composite bosons include:
carbon-12, lead-208, and many others.[
Even-mass-number nuclides comprise = 60% of all stable nuclides. They are bosons, i.e. they have integer spin, and almost all of them (148 of the 153) are even-proton / even-neutron (EE) nuclides. The EE nuclides necessarily have spin 0 because of pairing. The remaining 5 stable bosonic nuclides are odd-proton / odd-neutron (OO) stable nuclides (see ). The five odd–odd bosonic nuclides are:
]
Each of the five has integer, nonzero spin.
As quantum particles, the behaviour of multiple indistinguishable bosons at high densities is described by Bose–Einstein statistics. One characteristic which becomes important in superfluidity and other applications of Bose–Einstein condensates is that there is no restriction on the number of bosons that may occupy the same quantum state. As a consequence, when for example a gas of helium-4 atoms is cooled to temperatures very close to absolute zero and the kinetic energy of the particles becomes negligible, it condenses into a low-energy state and becomes a superfluid.
Other examples in condensed matter systems include Cooper pair in superconductors and Exciton in semiconductors.[Monique Combescot and Shiue-Yuan Shiau, "Excitons and Cooper Pairs: Two Composite Bosons in Many-Body Physics", Oxford University Press ().]
Quasiparticles
Certain
are observed to behave as bosons and to follow Bose–Einstein statistics, including Cooper pairs,
and
.
See also
Explanatory notes
