208
R. N. Mohapatra
exploring the Earth’s crust, exploring long distance communication as well as
monitoring rogue countries before they build up destructive nuclear arsenals.
Some basic properties of the neutrino are completely unknown—for example, is the neutrino its own antiparticle (a Majorana neutrino)? This is a
property not only vital for uncovering new forces but also for possible future
use of the neutrino for practical applications.
Are there CP violating forces in the neutrino sector that distinguish between
neutrinos and anti-neutrinos? If so, do they solve the major cosmological
puzzle of the smooth Big Bang universe, i.e. generating the matter–anti-matter
asymmetry that is observed today? If it does, can we test this particular aspect
of the leptonic sector explicitly? This physics can have important practical
applications.
Are there new kinds of dark (or sterile) neutrinos? Many experiments are
trying to establish their existence. If they are confirmed to exist, the field
of neutrino physics will undergo a transformational change, which mostly
has been considering three known “active” neutrinos for understanding their
properties. Do they imply the existence of a parallel universe and do they
provide a motivation for the dark matter being from the parallel universe?
That will be exciting knowledge if confirmed. The fact that we may be
living right next to another invisible world gives the word “invisible” a new
meaning—invisible stars, invisible planets passing through us every moment
is an Earth-shaking concept—literally.
With observations of neutrinos from the different astrophysical objects in
the sky, a new branch of astronomy has sprung up and is going to thrive:
neutrino astronomy. It will add to the conventional astronomy knowledge
that used telescopes invented in 1608 and used extensively by Galileo. Add to
this the recent arrival of gravity wave astronomy, which observes gravity waves
from massive distant objects. They will help scientists in deciphering the inner
workings of the objects in the sky, which could not have been studied using
conventional optical, infrared, and radio telescopes.
Does the anthropic principle play a role in our understanding of physical
phenomena? Does string theory require the anthropic principle? What does
the future of the universe look like from today’s vantage point with currently
available knowledge?
Apparently, Enrico Fermi once said, commenting on somebody’s seminar
that “Before I came here, I was confused about the subject; after listening to
your lecture, I am still confused but at a higher level.”
If this book gives the same sense of a higher level confusion and some
enlightenment to the reader about the world of the neutrino, I will consider
my efforts worth it!
R. N. Mohapatra
exploring the Earth’s crust, exploring long distance communication as well as
monitoring rogue countries before they build up destructive nuclear arsenals.
Some basic properties of the neutrino are completely unknown—for example, is the neutrino its own antiparticle (a Majorana neutrino)? This is a
property not only vital for uncovering new forces but also for possible future
use of the neutrino for practical applications.
Are there CP violating forces in the neutrino sector that distinguish between
neutrinos and anti-neutrinos? If so, do they solve the major cosmological
puzzle of the smooth Big Bang universe, i.e. generating the matter–anti-matter
asymmetry that is observed today? If it does, can we test this particular aspect
of the leptonic sector explicitly? This physics can have important practical
applications.
Are there new kinds of dark (or sterile) neutrinos? Many experiments are
trying to establish their existence. If they are confirmed to exist, the field
of neutrino physics will undergo a transformational change, which mostly
has been considering three known “active” neutrinos for understanding their
properties. Do they imply the existence of a parallel universe and do they
provide a motivation for the dark matter being from the parallel universe?
That will be exciting knowledge if confirmed. The fact that we may be
living right next to another invisible world gives the word “invisible” a new
meaning—invisible stars, invisible planets passing through us every moment
is an Earth-shaking concept—literally.
With observations of neutrinos from the different astrophysical objects in
the sky, a new branch of astronomy has sprung up and is going to thrive:
neutrino astronomy. It will add to the conventional astronomy knowledge
that used telescopes invented in 1608 and used extensively by Galileo. Add to
this the recent arrival of gravity wave astronomy, which observes gravity waves
from massive distant objects. They will help scientists in deciphering the inner
workings of the objects in the sky, which could not have been studied using
conventional optical, infrared, and radio telescopes.
Does the anthropic principle play a role in our understanding of physical
phenomena? Does string theory require the anthropic principle? What does
the future of the universe look like from today’s vantage point with currently
available knowledge?
Apparently, Enrico Fermi once said, commenting on somebody’s seminar
that “Before I came here, I was confused about the subject; after listening to
your lecture, I am still confused but at a higher level.”
If this book gives the same sense of a higher level confusion and some
enlightenment to the reader about the world of the neutrino, I will consider
my efforts worth it!