A W boson is a subatomic particle that belongs to the family of elementary particles called bosons. It is one of the fundamental particles that make up the universe and is responsible for the weak nuclear force, which is one of the four fundamental forces of nature.
A W boson can decay in two ways: into a lepton-antilepton pair (such as an electron and an antineutrino) or into a quark-antiquark pair. The specific decay mode depends on the energy and other properties of the W boson.
The lifetime of a W boson is incredibly short, lasting only about 10^-25 seconds. This is because the W boson is a very massive particle and therefore decays quickly into lighter particles according to the laws of quantum mechanics.
No, a W boson can only decay into two particles at a time. This is due to the conservation of energy and momentum, which dictates that the total energy and momentum of the decay products must equal that of the original particle.
Studying W boson decay is essential for understanding the fundamental forces and building blocks of the universe. It also plays a crucial role in particle physics experiments and can provide insights into the behavior of matter and energy at a subatomic level.