Are they from different energy family?

Edited June 12, 20178 yr by Roger Dynamic Motion

Photons are the quanta of the electromagnetic interaction. Z particles (along with W particles) are quanta of the weak interaction. All three (photons, Z, and W) are bosons, but Z and W have rest mass, whereas photons are "rest massless." Because of this the electromagnetic interaction is long-range, whereas the weak interaction is not. W has charge, but Z doesn't, and is its own anti-particle.

 

That's the extent of my woefully limited knowledge - I'm sure others will add more. But basically they (photons and Z) are both chargeless bosons, but they mediate different forces and W has mass.

Photons are the quanta of the electromagnetic interaction. Z particles (along with W particles) are quanta of the weak interaction. All three (photons, Z, and W) are bosons, but Z and W have rest mass, whereas photons are "rest massless." Because of this the electromagnetic interaction is long-range, whereas the weak interaction is not. W has charge, but Z doesn't, and is its own anti-particle.

 

That's the extent of my woefully limited knowledge - I'm sure others will add more. But basically they (photons and Z) are both chargeless bosons, but they mediate different forces and W has mass.

do I understand that Z is an anti photon.

No. The photon is its own antiparticle, and the Z is its own antiparticle. But they are different particles (differ in mass, differ in which forces they mediate, etc.) What they have in common is that they are all bosons.

Roger - where are you getting the idea that z is an anti-photon? Your threads would go much smoother if you provided a background to the questions you have asked.

The Z and the photon would have been essentially similar, but the Z ( and Ws ) gained the ability to couple with the Higgs field when the electroweak symmetry break occurred.

This gives them mass, and reduces their interaction range.

The Z and the photon would have been essentially similar, but the Z ( and Ws ) gained the ability to couple with the Higgs field when the electroweak symmetry break occurred.

This gives them mass, and reduces their interaction range.

 

Spin is different isn't it?

 

Sorry rush of blood to the head