Fermions & Bosons

Nature is made of quantum fields
Fermions and bosons are two classes of excitations of those fields

Fermions

1. Matter particles
2. Have half-integer spin (1/2, 3/2, …)
3. Include electrons and quarks
4. Responsible for the stability of matter
5. Obey the Pauli exclusion principle

Bosons

1. Force carrying particles
2. Have integer spin (0, 1, 2, …)
3. Include photons, gluons, W and Z bosons and Higgs boson
4. Responsible for the fundamental interactions between particles
5. Do not obey the Pauli exclusion principle

Fermion-Boson Interaction

1. Fermions interact by exchanging bosons
2. Exchanges are often described using virtual particles in quantum field theory
3. All observed forces (except gravity - pending) arise from these exchanges
4. The behavior of matter and forces in the universe emerges from this interaction