Topics in Neutrino Phenomenology

University Of Alaska Anchorage Campus, Anchorage AK

Investigators

Abstract

Research in theoretical physics will be concerned with the fundamental properties of neutrinos. There are lots of neutrinos around, for example there are estimated to be 10 billion neutrinos for every atom of `normal' matter. However despite this the fundamental properties of neutrinos are poorly known. This is because neutrinos interact only weakly with `normal' matter and so are difficult to study. After several decades of effort, experiments have only recently begun to reveal their properties. Many new experiments are planned, some using particle accelerators such as the one at Fermilab to send neutrinos hundreds of miles through the Earth. Calculations will be performed to clarify the implications of the present and upcoming observations. Also, calculations will be performed to find the implications of the revealed neutrino properties for the evolution of the early universe. These studies are important because how the universe formed is sensitive to the properties of neutrinos, and also because neutrino properties provide a unique insight into the fundamental nature of all particles and forces.