boson

(noun)

A particle with totally symmetric quantum states. They have integer spin and include many elementary particles, and some (gauge bosons) are known to carry the fundamental forces.

Related Terms

Examples of boson in the following topics:

  • The Pauli Exclusion Principle

    • The Pauli exclusion principle governs the behavior of all fermions (particles with half-integer spin), while bosons (particles with integer spin) are not subject to it.
    • Atoms can have different overall spin, which determines whether they are fermions or bosons—for example, helium-3 has spin 1/2 and is therefore a fermion, in contrast to helium-4 which has spin 0, making it a boson.
    • In contrast, particles with integer spin (bosons) have symmetric wave functions; unlike fermions, bosons may share the same quantum states.
    • Bosons include the photon, the Cooper pairs (responsible for superconductivity), and the W and Z bosons.
    • Fermions take their name from the Fermi–Dirac statistical distribution that they obey, and bosons take their name from Bose–Einstein distribution.