Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Neutrino or, More Precisely, the Neutrinos: Elusive and Weird Particles, Able to Arrive from Very Far Away

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Celestial Messengers

Part of the book series: Astronomers' Universe ((ASTRONOM))

  • 995 Accesses

Abstract

Although neutrinos are the most abundant component of cosmic rays at sea level, due to their very weak interaction with matter it has been possible to detect them only in the last 50 years, after large underground detectors became available.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 34.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 44.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    B. Pontecorvo [1] (in Russian); translated in [2].

  2. 2.

    F. Reines and R. Davies experiments discussed later here and B.P. Lazarenko and S. Yu Likanov [4]; G. Bernardini [5].

  3. 3.

    Theorists have been thinking about a fourth kind of neutrinos, called sterile neutrinos, since the late 1960s. These hypothetical neutrinos are called sterile because they do not interact at all with known particles. A sterile neutrino would not participate in weak interactions and would arise only from ordinary neutrinos oscillating into a sterile form.

  4. 4.

    see F. Reines and C.L. Cowan [16] for a complete description of the Savannah River experiment.

  5. 5.

    John Norris Bahcall was born on 30 December 1934 at Shreveport, Louisiana, USA and died at the Institute for Advanced Studies, Princeton on 17 August 2005. He studied at Louisiana State University first philosophy, then physics, and eventually astronomy. He then moved to the University of California, at Berkeley where he earned an AB in physics in 1956. Later, in 1957 he had a MS at Chicago University and a PhD at Harvard, in 1961.After some appointments in several universities, in 1971 he was appointed Professor at the Institute for Advanced Studies, Princeton. He worked in several fields of astrophysics.

  6. 6.

    Riccardo Giacconi was born in Genua, Italy, in 1931. He studied at University of Milano earning a degree in Physics and working on cosmic rays. In 1956, he obtained a Fulbright Fellowship to work in US and after some time he received an offer to work on space sciences and started a successful research in X-rays astronomy. He held several academic positions.

  7. 7.

    The story is taken from this lecture.

  8. 8.

    SNU is the shortname of solar neutrino unit and is 10 − 36 captures per target atom per second.

  9. 9.

    Masatoshi Koshiba was born in Toyohashi, Aichi on 1926. He graduated from the University of Tokyo in 1951 and received a PhD in physics at the University of Rochester, New York, in 1955. He was Associate Professor in 1963 at the University of Tokyo and then Professor in 1970 and Emeritus Professor in 1987. He had several other academic duties. He received Nobel Prize for Physics in 2002.

  10. 10.

    Yoji Totsuka was born in Fuji, Japan in 1942. He studied in University of Tokyo and accepted there an Associate Professorship in 1979. In 1981, started work on Kamiokande experiment. Shortly after the supernova neutrino detection, Koshiba retired and Totsuka became leader of the Kamiokande project. In 2003, he became the Director General of Japan’s high-energy physics organization, KEK. He died in 2008.

  11. 11.

    μb is a microbarn. The barn is an international unit of cross section, \(1\,\mathrm{barn} = 1{0}^{-24}\,{\mathrm{cm}}^{2}\).

  12. 12.

    B. Pontecorvo [54] (in Russian); translated in [55].

  13. 13.

    We explain in the next paragraph these numbers.

  14. 14.

    T. Toshito et al., quoted in Ahmad [77].

  15. 15.

    See, for example, note 5 of the paper K. Hirata et al. [87].

  16. 16.

    More information may be found in [96].

References

  1. B. Pontecorvo, Zh. Eksp. Teor. Fiz. 37, 1751 (1959) (in Russian)

    Google Scholar 

  2. B. Pontecorvo, Sov. Phys. JETP 37, 1236 (1960)

    Google Scholar 

  3. M.L. Perl, Phys. Rev. Lett. 35, 1489 (1975)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  4. B.P. Lazarenko, S. Yu Likanov, Zh. Eksp. Teor. Fiz. 49, 751 (1965)

    Google Scholar 

  5. G. Bernardini, in International Conference on High-Energy Physics, Dubna, 1964

    Google Scholar 

  6. G.S. Abrams et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 63, 2173 (1989)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  7. B. Adeva et al., Z. Phys. C 51, 179 (1991)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. G. Alexander et al., Z. Phys. C 52, 175 (1991)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  9. P. Abreu et al., Nucl. Phys. B 367, 511 (1991)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  10. F. Reines, C.L. Cowan Jr., Detection of the free neutrino. Phys. Rev. 92, 830 (1953)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  11. C.L. Cowan Jr., E. Reines, E.B. Harrison, H.W. Kruse, A.D. McGuire, Science 124, 103 (1956)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  12. F. Reines, in Nobel Lectures. Physics 1991–1995, ed. by G. Ekspong (World Scientific Publishing Co., Singapore, 1997)

    Google Scholar 

  13. H.A. Bethe, R.E. Peierls, Nature 133, 532 (1934)

    Article  ADS  MATH  Google Scholar 

  14. F. Reines, C.L. Cowan, Phys. Rev. 90, 492 (1953)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  15. F. Reines, C.L. Cowan, Phys. Rev. 92, 830 (1953)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  16. F. Reines, C.L. Cowan, Phys. Rev. 113, 273 (1959)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  17. C.P. Enz, No time to be Brief, Oxford University Press (2002), p. 488

    Google Scholar 

  18. F. Reines et al., Phys. Rev. D 4, 80 (1971)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  19. M.F. Crouch, P.B. Landecker, J.F. Lathrop, F. Reines, W.G. Sandie, H.W. Sobel, H. Coxell, J.P.F. Sellschop, Phys. Rev. D 18, 2239 (1978)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  20. R. Atkinson, F.G. Houtermans, Zeits. Phys. 54, 656 (1929)

    Article  ADS  MATH  Google Scholar 

  21. H.A. Bethe, Phys. Rev. 55, 434 (1939)

    Article  ADS  MATH  Google Scholar 

  22. J. Davis, in Nobel Lectures. The Nobel Prizes 2002, ed. by T. Frangsmyr (Nobel Foundation, Stockholm, 2003)

    Google Scholar 

  23. M.R. Crane, Rev. Mod. Phys. 20, 278 (1948)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  24. R. Davis Jr., Phys. Rev. 86, 976 (1952)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  25. P.B. Smith, J.S. Allen, Phys. Rev. 81, 381 (1951)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  26. R. Davis Jr., Phys. Rev. 97, 766 (1955)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  27. H.D. Holmgren, R.L. Johnston, Phys. Rev. 113, 1556 (1958)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  28. J.N. Bahcall, R.K. Ulrich, Rev. Mod. Phys. 60, 297 (1988)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  29. R. Davis Jr., D.S. Harmer, K.C. Hoffman, Phys. Rev. Lett. 20, 1205 (1968)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  30. J.N. Bahcall, N.A. Bahcall, G. Shaviv, Phys. Rev. Lett. 20, 1209 (1968)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  31. K.S. Hirata et al., Phys. Rev.Lett. 63, 16 (1989)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  32. K.S. Hirata et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 65, 1297 (1990)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  33. K.S. Hirata et al., Phys. Rev. D 44, 2241 (1991)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  34. Y. Fukuda et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 77, 1683 (1996)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  35. Y. Fukuda et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 81, 1158 (1998)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  36. S. Fukuda et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 5651 (2001)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  37. Y. Fukuda et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 82, 1810 (1999)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  38. M. Altman et al., Phys. Lett. B 285, 16 (1999)

    Google Scholar 

  39. W. Hampel et al., Phys. Lett. B 447, 127 (1999)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  40. P. Anselmann et al., Phys. Lett. B 327, 377(1994)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  41. N. Abdurashitov et al., Zh. Eksp. Theor. Phys. 95, 181 (2002)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  42. J.N. Abdurashitov et al., Phys. Lett. B 328, 234 (1994)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  43. J.N. Abdurashitov et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 77, 4708 (1996)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  44. J.N. Abdurashitov et al., Phys. Rev. C 59, 2246 (1999)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  45. J.N. Abdurashitov et al., Phys. Rev. C 60, 055801 (1999)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  46. M.A. Markov, I.M. Zheleznykh, Nucl. Phys. 27, 385 (1961)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. G.T. Zatsepin, V.A. Kuzmin, JETP 14, 1294 (1962)

    Google Scholar 

  48. C.V. Achar et al., Phys. Lett. 18, 196 (1965)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  49. C.V. Achar et al., Phys. Lett. 19, 78 (1965)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  50. F. Reines et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 15,429 (1965)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  51. M.F. Crouch et al., Phys. Rev. D 18, 2239 (1978)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  52. J.G. Learned, K. Mannhein, Annu. Rev. Nucl. Part. Sci. 50, 679 (2000)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  53. M.R. Krishnaswamy et al., Pramana 19, 525 (1982)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  54. B. Pontecorvo, Zh. Eksp. Teor. Fiz. 33, 549 (1957) (in Russian)

    Google Scholar 

  55. B. Pontecorvo, Sov. Phys. JETP 6, 429 (1958)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  56. B. Pontecorvo, V. Gribov, Phys. Lett. B 28, 493 (1969)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  57. B. Pontecorvo, Zh. Eksp. Teor. Fiz. 53, 1717 (1967)

    Google Scholar 

  58. B. Pontecorvo, Sov. Phys. JETP 26, 984 (1968)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  59. Z. Maki, M. Nakagawa, S. Sakata, Progr. Theor. Phys. 28, 870 (1962)

    Article  ADS  MATH  Google Scholar 

  60. M. Nakagawa, H. Okonogi, S. Sakata, A. Toyoda, Progr. Theor. Phys. 30, 727 (1963)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  61. F. Boehm et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 84, 3764 (2000)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  62. M. Apollonio et al., Phys. Lett. B 420, 397 (1998)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  63. M. Apollonio et al., Phys. Lett. B 466, 415 (1999)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  64. T. Lasserre, Europhys. News 38(4), 20 (2007)

    Article  MathSciNet  ADS  Google Scholar 

  65. C. Athanassopoulos et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 81, 1774 (1998)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  66. E. Eskut et al., Phys. Lett. B 497, 8 (2001)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  67. P. Astier et al., Nucl. Phys. B 611, 3 (2001)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  68. M. Honda et al., Phys. Lett. B 248, 193 (1990)

    Article  MathSciNet  ADS  Google Scholar 

  69. G. Barr et al., Phys. Rev. D 39, 3532 (1998)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  70. V. Fukuda et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 81, 1562 (1998)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  71. S. Fukuda et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 5651 (2001)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  72. M. Ambrosio et al., Phys. Lett. B 517, 59 (2001)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  73. K. Eguchi et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 90, 021802 (2003)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  74. T. Araki et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 081801 (2005)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  75. E. Pennacchio, Nuovo Cimento 33, 77 (2010)

    Google Scholar 

  76. N. Agafonova et al., Phys. Lett. B 691, 138 (2010)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  77. Q.R. Ahmad et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 71301 (2001)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  78. B. Aharmin et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 111301 (2008)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  79. E.G. Adelberger et al., Rev. Mod. Phys. 70, 1265 (1998)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  80. E.G. Adelberger et al., Rev. Mod. Phys. 83, 195 (2011)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  81. The KamLAND Collaboration, Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 081801 (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  82. C. Weinheimer, Phys. Scripta T 121, 166 (2005)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  83. G. Blumenthal, S. Faber, J. Primack, M. Rees, Nature 311, 517 (1984)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  84. A. Colgate, R.H. White, Astrophys. J. 143, 626 (1966)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  85. J.N. Bahcall, A. Dar, T. Piran, Nature 326, 155 (1987)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  86. S.E. Woosley, T.A. Neaver, Annu. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 24, 205 (1986)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  87. K. Hirata et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 58, 1490 (1987)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  88. R.M. Bionta et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 58, 1494 (1987)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  89. W.D. Arnet et al. Annu. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 27, 629 (1989)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  90. A. Roberts, Rev. Mod. Phys. 64, 259 (1992)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  91. V.A. Balkanov et al., Nucl. Phys. Proc. 118 (suppl.) 363 (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  92. E. Andres et al., Nature 410, 441 (2001)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  93. V.F. Halzen, S.R. Klein, Phys. Today 61, 29 (2008)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  94. W. Rhode et al., Astropart Phys. 4, 217 (1996)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  95. A. Achterberg et al., Phys. Rev. D 76, 042008 (2007)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  96. S. Giordeno, Il Nuovo Sagg. Boll. Soc. Ital. Fis. 23(5–6), 58 (2007)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Scienze di Base e Applicate per l’Ingegneria (SBAI), University of Roma “La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy

    Mario Bertolotti

Authors
  1. Mario Bertolotti
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mario Bertolotti .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Bertolotti, M. (2013). The Neutrino or, More Precisely, the Neutrinos: Elusive and Weird Particles, Able to Arrive from Very Far Away. In: Celestial Messengers. Astronomers' Universe. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-28371-0_11

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-28371-0_11

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-28370-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-28371-0

  • eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation