boson

/boh"son/, n. Physics.

any particle that obeys Bose-Einstein statistics: bosons have integral spins: 0, 1, 2, ... Cf. fermion.

[1945-50; named after S. N. Bose (1894-1974), Indian physicist; see -ON¹]

* * *

Subatomic particle with integral spin that is governed by Bose-Einstein statistics.

Bosons include mesons, nuclei of even mass number, and the particles required to embody the fields of quantum field theory. Unlike fermions, there is no limit to the number of bosons that can occupy the same quantum state, a behaviour that gives rise to the superfluidity of helium-4.

* * *

▪ subatomic particle

      subatomic particle with integral spin (i.e., angular momentum in quantum-mechanical units of 0, 1, etc.) that is governed by the Bose-Einstein statistics (q.v.). Bosons include mesons (e.g., pions and kaons), nuclei of even mass number (e.g., helium-4), and the particles required to embody the fields of quantum field theory (e.g., photons and gluons). Bosons differ significantly from a group of subatomic particles known as fermions (fermion) in that there is no limit to the number that can occupy the same quantum state. This behaviour gives rise, for example, to the remarkable properties of helium-4 when it is cooled to become a superfluid.

* * *