How does beta decay change a neutron into a proton?

In the process of beta-minus decay, a neutron within an unstable nucleus transmutes into a proton through the action of the weak force.12

During this transformation, the neutron emits a virtual $W^{-}$ boson, which is a massive particle responsible for mediating the change in charge. Because this boson is extremely massive, its existence is fleeting, and it immediately decays into an energetic electron and an antineutrino.13

The overall reaction can be summarized as:
$$n\to p+e^{-}+\overline{\nu }$$

In this equation, $n$ represents the neutron, $p$ the proton, $e^{-}$ the electron, and $\overline{\nu }$ the antineutrino. Because the electron carries a negative charge, the total electric charge of the system is conserved, even though the neutron (which is neutral) has become a proton (which is positively charged). This process results in a daughter nucleus with an atomic number one unit higher than the parent nucleus, while the mass number remains unchanged.2415