Which fundamental force is mediated by the W and Z bosons?

The weak interaction is carried by two massive charged bosons, W+ and W−, and one neutral boson, Z0. Their large masses make the weak force extremely short-ranged, which is why it only acts inside atomic nuclei and in certain particle decays. The W and Z bosons were discovered at CERN in 1983 by the UA1 and UA2 collaborations, a major success for the Standard Model. Their discovery confirmed electroweak theory, which unifies the weak force with electromagnetism at high energies. These particles remain central to particle physics research.