The weak force, also known as the weak nuclear force, is mediated by three elementary particles called gauge bosons. These gauge bosons are known as the W+, W-, and Z bosons.
The W+ and W- bosons are responsible for mediating the interactions involved in the process of nuclear decay, such as beta decay, where a neutron transforms into a proton, an electron, and an electron antineutrino (or vice versa). The W+ boson carries a positive electric charge, while the W- boson carries a negative electric charge. Both W bosons have a mass approximately 80 times that of a proton.
The Z boson, on the other hand, is electrically neutral and has a mass of around 91 times that of a proton. It is responsible for mediating the neutral current interactions associated with the weak force. These interactions involve the exchange of Z bosons between particles.
Together, the W and Z bosons play a crucial role in the weak force, allowing for the transformation of particles and facilitating interactions that violate conservation of parity and involve changes in flavor (known as flavor-changing processes).
The discovery of the W and Z bosons in the 1980s through experiments conducted at CERN confirmed the existence of the weak force and provided evidence for the electroweak theory, which unifies the weak force with the electromagnetic force.