A Drastic Solution

  • Solar Neutrino Puzzle was not easy to explain:
    • Independent helioseismological data agreed with known model of the sun and its power generation.
    • Numerous checks and verifications of the Homestake experiment confirmed that its measurements are correct.
    • A few other experiments showed the same type of deficiency in the number of detected neutrinos as the Homestake experiment.
  • The puzzle called for a drastic solution: what if something is happening to solar neutrinos on their way from the sun to the earth?
  • What if they are turning into different neutrino type (muon or tau neutrino) that can not be observed in the detectors?
  • The phenomenon of neutrino changing their type back and forth among electron, muon and tau , became known as NEUTRINO OSCILLATIONS

The phenomenon of neutrino oscillations is very peculiar. If we would think about analogy to neutrino oscillations in everyday life that would be similar to a flying eagle that along its flight turns into a parrot, and then, as it flies further to a duck and then after flying even further into an eagle again. The bird would continue to cycle among different types as it flies.

 


 

Hint of Neutrinos | Experimental | Plot Thickens | Solar Neutrino Puzzle | A Drastic Solution | Explanation | Neutrino Mass | Oscillation Properties