Which fundamental force is responsible for radioactivity?

The weak nuclear force governs processes such as beta decay, where a neutron can transform into a proton or vice versa. This force is essential in nuclear physics and in the nuclear reactions that power the Sun. It acts at an extremely short range, much smaller than the size of a proton, and is carried by the W and Z bosons, discovered in the 1980s. The weak interaction also plays a key role in particle flavor change. Despite its name, it is crucial for many of the transformations that make stars and elements possible.