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From the robot_state_publisher wiki:

robot_state_publisher uses the URDF specified by the parameter robot_description and the joint positions from the topic joint_states to calculate the forward kinematics of the robot and publish the results via tf.

From the joint_state_publisher wiki:

This package publishes sensor_msgs/JointState messages for a robot. The package reads the robot_description parameter, finds all of the non-fixed joints and publishes a JointState message with all those joints defined.

Can be used in conjunction with the robot_state_publisher node to also publish transforms for all joint states.

Basically, the robot_state_publisher publishes the tf transforms of your robot based on its URDF file. You can also publish the joint states using the joint_state_publisher or do it yourself. Either way, the robot_state_publisher uses this information to calculate the forward kinematics of your robot.

From the robot_state_publisher wiki:

robot_state_publisher uses the URDF specified by the parameter robot_description and the joint positions from the topic joint_states to calculate the forward kinematics of the robot and publish the results via tf.

From the joint_state_publisher wiki:

This package publishes sensor_msgs/JointState messages for a robot. The package reads the robot_description parameter, finds all of the non-fixed joints and publishes a JointState message with all those joints defined.

Can be used in conjunction with the robot_state_publisher node to also publish transforms for all joint states.

Basically, the robot_state_publisher publishes the tf transforms of your robot based on its URDF file. You can also publish the joint states using the joint_state_publisher or do it yourself. Either way, the robot_state_publisher uses this information to calculate the forward kinematics of your robot.