Leptons

• Simplest of the elementary particles

• Point like with no apparent internal structure
• There are only six leptons plus their six antiparticles
• All leptons are spin ½ particles
• They can’t interact via strong interaction, but they are
subject to the other three fundamental
interactions: gravitation, weak interaction, and
electromagnetic interaction (only charged leptons)

There has still been no plausible suggestion that they are

formed from some more fundamental particles.

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 Leptons

• 1897: Discovery of electron by Sir J. J. Thomson

• 1932: Discovery of positron by C. D. Anderson
• 1936: Discovery of muon by Carl D. Anderson and Seth
Neddermeyer
• 1975: Discovery of tau lepton by a group led by Martin
Perl at SLAC, California

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 Beta activity and the Concept of Neutrino
Beta decay (β-decay) is a type
of radioactive decay in which a beta
particle (fast energetic electron or positron)
is emitted from an atomic nucleus,
transforming the original nuclide to
an isobar. Energy released was due to a
small difference in nuclei masses. However,
measurements of continuous electron
energy spectra were controversial.
 1930 Pauli suggested that the continuum spectra might be due to one more
“invisible” light neutral particle (later to be named neutrino) involved in the
β-decay.
 It could not be photons—they would be easily detected.
 It had to be something else and might be undetectable at all… With three
particles involved, electron would be able to take any momentum from zero
to the maximum allowed, the balance being taken care of by the other light
“invisible” particle…
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 Neutrinos
Neutrino associated with Beta-decay was later identified as electron
neutrino. There are two other types of neutrinos: muon neutrino and tau
neutrino.

Properties of Neutrinos
 Neutrinos have zero charge.
 Their masses are known to be very small (< 1 eV).
 Neutrinos are the most numerous matter particles in the universe.
They come from a variety of sources, such as cosmic rays, the sun,
exploding stars, the center of the Earth, nuclear power plants and
even nuclear processes within your body.
 Thousands of trillions of neutrinos pass through you each second.
 Neutrinos are particularly difficult to detect because they have no
charge and little mass, and they interact very weakly.
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 Detection of Electron Neutrino

Interaction of neutrino
Inverse beta decay equation
This interaction provides an opportunity of detecting the existence
of anti-neutrino (neutrino). However, the probability of this reaction
is extremely small.

 From an average-size nuclear reactor about 5X1012 neutrinos

are released per second per square centimetre.

1953 : Clyde L Cowan & Frederick Reines used a nuclear reactor at Hanford,
USA as a source of anti-neutrinos and discovered its existence.

1995: Frederick Reines was honoured with the Nobel Prize for his work
on neutrino physics
 Discovery of Other Neutrinos

In 1962 Leon M. Lederman, Melvin Schwartz and Jack

Steinberger discovered the existence of muon neutrino at
the Brookhaven National Laboratory which earned them
the 1988 Nobel Prize.

In 2000 Tau neutrino was discovered by an international

collaboration of 54 physicists at Fermilab, USA after a three-
year analysis of data from the Direct Observation of the Nu
Tau (DONUT) experiment.
 Solar Neutrino Problem

• Neutrinos emitted from the interior of the Sun are created through
proton-proton cycle and so these solar neutrinos are electron neutrinos.

• When measured experimentally by a well designed detector it was found

that there is a discrepancy between the number of electron neutrinos
detected experimentally and those electron neutrinos calculated
according to the theoretical model of solar interior.

𝟏 𝟏
𝑵𝒐. 𝒐𝒇 𝝂𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 = 𝑵𝒐. 𝒐𝒇 𝝂𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 ~ 𝑵𝒐. 𝒐𝒇 𝝂𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅
𝟑 𝟐

• This discrepancy is known as the “Solar Neutrino Problem”. It is resolved

by new understanding of neutrino physics which required a modification
of the standard model of particle physics by including
neutrinos oscillation.
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 Neutrino Oscillation

• A neutrino created with a specific

flavour has an associated
specific quantum superposition of
all three mass states.

• Neutrinos oscillate between

different flavors in flight.

The 2015 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded jointly to Takaaki

Kajita, Japan and Arthur B. McDonald, Canada for the discovery
of neutrino oscillations, which shows that neutrinos have mass.
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