![]() ![]() This causes the original mixture of mass 1, mass 2, and mass 3-which made up the electron neutrino-to change along the neutrino’s path. As the electron neutrino travels, the different mass states get out of phase with each other the lightest state has a slightly larger velocity than the heavier states. Each particle is also a wave, and each has a slightly different mass, meaning each travels at a slightly different speed. When a neutrino-let’s say an electron neutrino-is born, it is a quantum mechanical combination (or superposition) of all three mass states. Mass neutrinos and flavor neutrinos coexist in an interesting way. And the masses of ν 1 and ν 2 are close to one another, while ν 3 weighs either much more or much less than the other two. Mass 1 leans heavily toward electron flavor mass 2 is more of an even blend of electron, muon and tau and mass 3 is mostly muon and tau. And they know a bit about how the flavor mixture for each mass neutrino breaks down. They know that the masses of the three neutrinos are small. There are many open questions about the neutrino masses, but scientists do know a few things. One might think that each of the three masses has a different flavor, but the truth makes matters more confusing: the mass state of a neutrino does not precisely match up with the flavor state of a neutrino.Ī flavor of a neutrino (such as the electron neutrino) is made of a combination of masses (1, 2, and 3), and a neutrino of a certain mass (such as the lightest neutrino) has a certain probability of interacting in a detector to make a certain flavored charged particle (electron, muon, or tau). Electron neutrinos interact to make electrons, muon neutrinos make muons, and tau neutrinos make taus.īut there is another way to think about neutrinos-their mass, or “mass state.” Physicists have named these neutrinos mass 1, mass 2, and mass 3, though they can also be referred to as ν 1, ν 2, and ν 3. This makes good sense-when neutrinos interact in detectors, they typically produce their signature charged particle, making the neutrino flavor immediately obvious. Physicists typically refer to neutrinos by their flavors: electron neutrino, muon neutrino, and tau neutrino.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |