Electroweak force
The electroweak force is the force that appears in the form of electromagnetism and the weak nuclear force. Although these two forces appear very different, the electroweak theory models the two as being different aspects of the same force.
This is done by unifying the two forces under a SU(2)×U(1) gauge group. The corresponding gauge bosons are the photon of electromagnetism and the W+, W-, and Z0 bosons of the weak force. In the Standard Model, the weak guage bosons get their mass from the spontaneous symmetry breaking of SU(2)×U(1) caused by the Higgs boson.
For contributions to the unification of the weak and electromagnetic interaction between elementary particles Sheldon Glashow, Abdus Salam, and Steven Weinberg were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1979.
See also: fundamental force, SU(3)×SU(2)×U(1).
Referenced By
List of astronomical topics | List of astronomical topics (N-Z) | List of physics topics A-E
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