The International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) has established a Neutrino Panel to promote international collaboration in the development of future neutrino experiments to establish the properties of neutrinos. MPIK’s long standing and very visible record in neutrino physics led to two members of the institute serving on this international panel with 19 members. Manfred Lindner was one of the three co-chairs together with Takaaki Kajita (2015 Noble prize winner for the discovery of neutrino oscillations) and Nigel Smith (former director of the SNOLAB underground research laboratory and now director of Canada’s particle accelerator centre TRIUMF). Furthermore, Werner Rodejohann was a member of the panel, making MPIK the only institute which had two members.
As part of its mandate, the panel now completed its 226 pages report which covers all important aspects and exciting connections of neutrino physics. The report highlights that neutrinos are very special particles with unique features and many exciting opportunities.
Neutrinos can provide unique information about sources, be it the Sun, supernovae, the inside of the Earth or the violent sources of high-energy cosmic rays. At the same time, neutrino oscillations and hence neutrino masses, are the only laboratory-based proof of physics beyond the standard model of particle physics.
The implications of neutrinos are manifold, e.g. they influence the evolution of structures in the Universe, or govern the way stars burn and finally explode, thereby populating the galaxies with primary chemical elements. Moreover, neutrinos have an essential impact on theories beyond the standard model, including connections to essentially all unexplained features like dark matter or the baryon asymmetry, i.e., the practically complete absence of antimatter in the Universe.
Past results came with many surprises and unexpected features. Not all parameters and properties of neutrinos are known yet, and the future likely will bring more surprises.
The review takes advantage of the particle and neutrino-source physics possibilities, and stresses the many benefits of physics of and with neutrinos. Necessary measures and developments to continue the success story of neutrinos are outlined.
The final report can now be found on the web pages of the panel. The report will also be published as a review, since it is a highly relevant up-to-date collection of the many topics and connections of neutrino physics.
