W boson

The W and Z bosons (together known as the weak bosons or, less specifically, the intermediate vector bosons) are the elementary particles that mediate the weak interaction; their symbols are , , and . The W bosons have a positive and negative electric charge of 1 elementary charge respectively and are each other's antiparticles. The Z boson is electrically neutral and is its own antiparticle. The three particles have a spin of 1, and the W bosons have a magnetic moment, while the Z has none. All three of these particles are very short-lived, with a half-life of about . Their discovery was a major success for what is now called the Standard Model of particle physics.