(This is Part 3 of a series on neutrinos, Majorana fermions, and one of the strangest open questions in physics. Read Part 1 and Part 2.)
There is mass in neutrinos. We are aware of this. Additionally, as we shown in Part 1, ALL large particles alternate between left-handed and right-handed states. The mass is that flashing. The never-ending swapping, the Higgs handshake. That’s the situation. That’s what keeps everything together.
Neutrinos, however, do not flash. Neutrinos that are left-handed remain left-handed. Antineutrinos that are right-handed remain right-handed. Never change. Not a flicker. Nothing. Nevertheless, they possess mass.
Therefore, either everything we just discussed regarding mass is incorrect, which I’m rather certain it isn’t, or the neutrino is experiencing a really unusual phenomenon.
The simplest explanation is that the right-handed neutrinos ARE present. They are real. They are simply invisible to us.
This is the reason it works. Consider the electron. There are two very different ways to describe an electron. The first is handedness. either to the left or right. However, we have discovered that for a big particle, this is simply the flickering, which is fleeting and ever-changing. It’s not a permanent designation. An electron’s handedness is practically…incidental. It doesn’t specify the essence of what an electron is.
However, an electron can also be described as a particle or an antiparticle. Positron against electron. This one is permanent as well. crucial. electrically charged and pinned open. There is charge in an electron. The opposite is true for a positron. They destroy each other in a burst of unadulterated energy if they come into contact. Because charge is conserved and the cosmos does not tamper with conserved quantities, the universe regards this distinction as sacred.
In the case of the electron, handedness fluctuates and is not particularly significant. The difference between a particle and its antiparticle is fundamental, locked, and extremely important. Two explanations. One is significant, the other is not.
This results in what we can legitimately refer to as the Dirac image, which bears Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac’s name. Dirac was the first to figure out the mathematics of relativistic quantum particles. The neutrino functions in the same manner as the electron in this illustration. There are two options for charge and two options for handedness. There are four possible combinations.
We can observe left-handed neutrinos, and the weak force adores them. We also observe right-handed antineutrinos, which are created during beta decay by the weak force. These are the ones that can be seen.
In the case of the electron, handedness fluctuates and is not particularly significant. The difference between a particle and its antiparticle is fundamental, locked, and extremely important. Two explanations. One is significant, the other is not.
This results in what we can legitimately refer to as the Dirac image, which bears Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac’s name. Dirac was the first to figure out the mathematics of relativistic quantum particles. The neutrino functions in the same manner as the electron in this illustration. There are two options for charge and two options for handedness. There are four possible combinations.
We can observe left-handed neutrinos, and the weak force adores them. We also observe right-handed antineutrinos, which are created during beta decay by the weak force. These are the ones that can be seen.
The other two come next. neutrino with a right hand. antineutrino with a left hand. The theory has these. They simply don’t engage with anything. They won’t be touched by our weak, germ-phobic force—remember, the wrong hands? They are ignored by electromagnetism because they have no electric charge. The powerful force disregards them since they have no color charge. Gravity is the only force they ever experience. They are invisible in the fullest and most comprehensive definition of the word. Not difficult to identify. Not uncommon. Not bashful. Invisible. In theory, completely, permanently, and undetectable by any device we could ever imagine creating.
We have no way of knowing if they are in this room right now.
And see, it’s effective. The calculations are reliable. It clarifies why only left-handed neutrinos are visible.
Even something very lovely is concealed within it. Something elegant emerges from the maths if those right-handed neutrinos exist and are ENORMOUSLY heavy. I mean ridiculously, even comically massive, like ten to fifteen times heavier than a proton. In the end, there is an inverse relationship between their mass and that of regular left-handed neutrinos. The left-handed neutrino becomes lighter when the right-handed companion becomes heavier. We refer to it as the seesaw mechanism. When one end is pushed down, the other rises. Additionally, it would explain why neutrino masses are so minuscule—almost offensive. The neutrino’s lightness would be a clear reflection of the vastness of something we are never able to see.
That’s pleasant.
However, the neutrino lacks an electric charge. Neutrinos and antineutrinos are kept apart in our equations by accounting techniques, but they are not holy like electric charge. There is no profound principle that protects them. They happen by mistake. Those norms were not imposed by the universe. Because of the way we created the math, they simply dropped out.
The problem is that nothing is making the difference between “antineutrino” and “neutrino” essential.
And Ettore Majorana entered through the gap in the door.
Majorana’s final publication and the experiment that could ultimately provide an answer to the question he left behind are covered in Part 4.