Rebels of the Standard Model: Majorana Neutrinos and the Search for Neutrinoless Double-Beta Decay

Rebels of the Standard Model: Majorana Neutrinos and the Search for Neutrinoless Double-Beta Decay
Lindley Winslow, MIT
Date and time: Tue, Oct 04, 2016 - 2:30pm
Location: LGRT 419B
Category: ACFI Seminar
Abstract:
The neutrino is unique among the Standard Model particles. It is the only particle that could be its own antiparticle, a Majorana particle. A Majorana neutrino would acquire mass in a fundamentally different way than the other particles and this would have profound consequences to particle physics and cosmology. The only feasible experiments to determine the Majorana nature of the neutrino are searches for the rare nuclear process neutrinoless double-beta decay. These are very difficult experiments and it is still not clear which techniques are the best to pursue. In this talk, I will review the physics of the neutrino and the experimental challenges involved in searching for neutrinoless double-beta decay. I will highlight the achievements of the R&D program at MIT.