Hamburg 2016 – scientific programme

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T: Fachverband Teilchenphysik

T 78: Niederenergie-Neutrinophysik II

T 78.1: Talk

Wednesday, March 2, 2016, 16:45–17:00, VMP9 SR 07

The History of Neutrino Physics from a Methodological Point of View — •Alexander Unzicker — Pestlozzi-Gymnasium München

A famous letter by Wolfgang Pauli in 1930, directed at the participants of the Naturforschertagung in Tübingen, marked the beginning of neutrino physics.

Since then, the field has undergone a dramatic change, though each conceptual step seemed to be a minor modification of the paradigm of the time.

A summary review of the crucial experiments and their interpretations is given: the early period, the Cowan-Reines experiment, the discovery of flavours, and ultimately, the establishment of neutrino oscillations that was rewarded with the Nobel Prize in 2016.

The current state of the field is discussed from a historical perspective. It is argued that there are distinct patterns regarding the methods that have appeared several times.