TAG: GS 3: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
THE CONTEXT: Many of the world’s countries are racing to study neutrinos because of the technological advantages to which they hold the key. Recently, new NOvA data deepens mystery of subatomic particle’s mass.
EXPLANATION:
Neutrinos
- Neutrinos, subatomic particles with no electric charge, minuscule mass, and left-handed spin, pervade the universe.
- As the second-most abundant particles after photons, neutrinos play a crucial role in understanding the fundamental forces and components of the cosmos.
- Despite their ubiquity, neutrinos rarely interact with matter, posing significant challenges to their study.
- Physicists and astrophysicists are intensely focused on neutrino research due to the potential technological advancements and deeper understanding of the universe it promises.
- Neutrinos are produced when leptons, such as muons, electrons, and tauons, interact with matter, resulting in muon-neutrinos, electron-neutrinos, and tau-neutrinos,
- However, their elusive nature makes detection and study arduous, necessitating sophisticated detectors with fine tracking capabilities.
NOvA Experiment: A Major Step Forward
- The NOvA (NuMI Off-axis 𝜈e Appearance) experiment, located in Minnesota, USA, is a landmark project managed by the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.
- It creates a neutrino beam aimed at a massive 14,000-tonne detector 800 km away.
- On June 17, scientists presented new data from NOvA at a conference in Italy, revealing results with twice the precision of previous runs.
- This experiment aims to decipher the role of neutrinos in cosmic evolution by determining their mass hierarchy.
Historical Context: Neutrinos and Mass
- The mystery of neutrino mass has intrigued physicists for decades.
- In 1987, neutrinos from a supernova were detected hours before the light from the explosion reached Earth, marking the birth of neutrino astronomy.
- For years, neutrinos were thought to be massless, but discoveries in the late 1990s in Japan and Canada proved otherwise.
- These findings challenged the Standard Model of particle physics, which did not account for massive neutrinos, prompting the need for substantial theoretical revisions.
Neutrino Oscillation and Mass Hierarchy
- Understanding how neutrinos change types over long distances, a phenomenon known as neutrino oscillation, is key to solving the mass hierarchy problem.
- Theoretical models propose two solutions: normal and inverted hierarchies.
- The normal order suggests one type is significantly heavier, while the other two have similar lower masses.
- The inverted order posits one lighter type and two heavier types.
- The latest NOvA data leans towards the normal hierarchy but remains inconclusive.
Technological Implications of Neutrino Research
- Neutrinos’ ability to pass through matter virtually undisturbed makes them excellent carriers of information from the distant past, such as from supernovae and black holes.
- This characteristic could revolutionize communication technologies, potentially replacing electromagnetic waves in certain applications.
- For instance, neutrinos could penetrate obstacles like seawater, which hinders electromagnetic transmission, opening new avenues for underwater communication.
Global Efforts in Neutrino Research
- Countries worldwide are investing in neutrino research through various experiments.
- Notable projects include Super-K III in Japan, SNO+ in Canada, MiniBOONe and NOvA in the USA, Double CHOOZ in France, Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory in China, OPERA in Switzerland, and the IceCube Neutrino Observatory in Antarctica.
- India’s own India-based Neutrino Observatory faces challenges but highlights the global commitment to unlocking neutrino mysteries.