Tests of Electroweak Theory
With the advent of electroweak theory, three new particles were needed: the gauge bosons W+, W- and Z0. The masses were predicted by the theory to be
- MWc2 ? 80 GeV
- MZc2 ? 90 GeV
That’s about the mass of bromine (z=35) and zirconium (z=40).
Not badd for a pair of elementary particles!
The W and Z are extremely short-lived, but can be identified by
their decay modes, also predicted by electroweak theory