ferromagnetism magnetic dipoles W and Z bosons Higgs boson Higgs mechanism symmetry gauge symmetry Standard Model spontaneous symmetry breaking
In the QFT of ferromagnetism, spontaneous symmetry breaking can explain the alignment of magnetic dipoles at low temperatures. In the Standard Model of elementary particles, the W and Z bosons, which would otherwise be massless as a result of gauge symmetry, acquire mass through spontaneous symmetry breaking of the Higgs boson, a process called the Higgs mechanism.
