Boson half-integer spin particles cannot be bosons and integer spin particles cannot be fermions. In large systems, the difference between bosonic and fermionic statistics is only apparent at large densities — when their wave functions overlap. At low densities, both types of statistics are well approximated by Maxwell–Boltzmann statistics, which is described by classical mechanics. All observed elementary particles are either fermions or bosons. The observed elementary bosons are all gauge bosons: photons, W and Z bosons, gluons, except the Higgs boson which is a scalar boson. Finally, many approaches to quantum gravity postulate a force carrier for gravity, the graviton,
Spontaneous symmetry breaking massive modes, like the plasma mode in a superconductor, or the Higgs mode observed in particle physics. In the standard model of particle physics, spontaneous symmetry breaking of the gauge symmetry associated with the electro-weak force generates masses for several particles, and separates the electromagnetic and weak forces. The W and Z bosons are the elementary particles that mediate the weak interaction, while the photon mediates the electromagnetic interaction. At energies much greater than 100 GeV all these particles behave in a similar manner. The Weinberg–Salam theory predicts that, at lower energies, this symmetry is broken so that the photon