Fundamental interaction The gravitational force is attributed to the curvature of spacetime, described by Einstein's general theory of relativity. The other three are discrete quantum fields, and their interactions are mediated by elementary particles described by the Standard Model of particle physics. Within the Standard Model, the strong interaction is carried by a particle called the gluon, and is responsible for quarks binding together to form hadrons, such as protons and neutrons. As a residual effect, it creates the nuclear force that binds the latter particles to form atomic nuclei. The weak interaction is carried by particles called W and Z bosons,
W′ and Z′ bosons W′ and Z′ bosons In particle physics, W′ and Z′ bosons (or W-prime and Z-prime bosons) refer to hypothetical gauge bosons that arise from extensions of the electroweak symmetry of the Standard Model. They are named in analogy with the Standard Model W and Z bosons. W′ bosons often arise in models with an extra SU(2) gauge group. is spontaneously broken to the diagonal subgroup SU(2) which corresponds to the electroweak SU(2). More generally, we might have "n" copies of SU(2), which are then broken down to a diagonal SU(2). This gives rise to "n"−1 W′, W′ and Z′ bosons.