Vector boson

The W and Z particles interact with the Higgs boson as shown in the Feynman diagram.

[4] The name vector boson arises from quantum field theory.

The component of such a particle's spin along any axis has the three eigenvalues −ħ, 0, and +ħ (where ħ is the reduced Planck constant), meaning that any measurement of its spin can only yield one of these values.

(This is true for massive vector bosons; the situation differs for massless particles such as the photon, for reasons beyond the scope of this article.

[5]) The space of spin states therefore is a discrete degree of freedom consisting of three states, the same as the number of components of a vector in three-dimensional space.

Feynman diagram of the fusion of two electroweak vector bosons to the scalar Higgs boson , which is a prominent process of the generation of Higgs bosons at particle accelerators (q: quark particle, W and Z: vector bosons of the electroweak interaction , H 0 : Higgs boson)