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Neutrino Oscillations and Solar Neutrinos

JUL 01, 1989
The hypothesized quantum mechanical process in which neutrinos transform from one ‘flavor’ into another can be studied by observing solar neutrinos with a new generation of highly sensitive detectors.
Lincoln Wolfenstein
Eugene W. Beier

The neutrino is the elementary particle postulated by Wolfgang Pauli to account for the apparent nonconservation of energy in nuclear beta decay. Neutrinos are now believed to exist in at least three varieties, or “flavors,” labeled νe, νμ and ντ and distinguished by the way they interact. There are also three antineutrinos, ν̄e, ν̄μ and ν̄τ.

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References

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More about the authors

Lincoln Wolfenstein, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh.

Eugene W. Beier, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.

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This Content Appeared In
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Volume 42, Number 7

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