Antineutrinos After Big Bang: Where Are They?

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In summary, after the big bang, a gas containing both neutrinos and anti-neutrinos was produced. While the neutrinos decoupled and formed a universal gas at 2K, the fate of the anti-neutrinos is still a major question in cosmology. The current hypothesis is that symmetry breaking may be the reason why there is more matter than antimatter in the universe.
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tut_einstein
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Right after the big bang a gas consisting of many elementary particles, including neutrinos and antineutrinos was produced. I know that the neutrinos decoupled and are believed to form a universal gas presently at about 2K. What happened to the anti-neutrinos?

Thanks
 
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Actually one of the major questions in cosmology is what happened to all the antimatter of ALL types that should have been produced after the big bang. Why is there more matter than antimatter? I'm not sure if we have a good answer yet.
 
  • #3
The current hypothesis is symetry breaking is the 'bad guy'.
 
  • #4
tut_einstein said:
Right after the big bang a gas consisting of many elementary particles, including neutrinos and antineutrinos was produced. I know that the neutrinos decoupled and are believed to form a universal gas presently at about 2K. What happened to the anti-neutrinos?

Thanks
When people say neutrinos, you can expect they mean anti-neutrinos as well. The neutrinos and anti-neutrinos would have been produced in nearly equal amounts.
 
  • #5
for your question. The study of neutrinos and antineutrinos is a fascinating area of research in the field of particle physics. After the big bang, a hot and dense gas consisting of many elementary particles, including neutrinos and antineutrinos, was produced. As the universe expanded and cooled, these particles decoupled from the rest of the matter and radiation, forming a universal gas.

Neutrinos are known to interact very weakly with matter, leading to their ability to travel long distances without being affected. This also means that they are difficult to detect. However, scientists have been able to observe and study neutrinos through various experiments, such as those using neutrino detectors deep underground.

Antineutrinos, on the other hand, have the same properties as neutrinos, except for their opposite charge. They are also difficult to detect, but scientists have been able to observe them through their interactions with matter, such as in nuclear reactors.

So to answer your question, the antineutrinos are still present in the universe, but they are much more difficult to detect compared to neutrinos. They are believed to have formed a universal gas similar to neutrinos, but further research and experiments are needed to fully understand their properties and behavior. Thank you for your interest in this topic.
 

1. What are antineutrinos?

Antineutrinos are subatomic particles that have no charge and very little mass. They are the antimatter counterpart to neutrinos, which are also subatomic particles with no charge but have a slightly greater mass. Antineutrinos are produced through certain nuclear reactions, such as beta decay.

2. How are antineutrinos related to the Big Bang?

During the Big Bang, the universe was filled with high-energy particles, including antineutrinos and neutrinos. As the universe expanded and cooled, these particles began to interact less with each other. However, while neutrinos have been detected and studied, antineutrinos have yet to be detected after the Big Bang.

3. Why have antineutrinos not been detected after the Big Bang?

Antineutrinos are notoriously difficult to detect because they interact very weakly with other particles. They also have very little mass, making it difficult for them to be detected through gravitational effects. Additionally, the energy required to create antineutrinos is higher than what was present during the early universe, making them even harder to detect.

4. What would the detection of antineutrinos after the Big Bang tell us?

The detection of antineutrinos would provide valuable insights into the early universe and its evolution. It would confirm the existence of antimatter during the Big Bang and help us better understand the processes that led to the formation of matter in the universe. It could also potentially provide clues about the nature of dark matter, which is still a mystery to scientists.

5. Are there any current efforts to detect antineutrinos after the Big Bang?

Yes, there are ongoing efforts to detect antineutrinos from the Big Bang. Scientists are using advanced detectors, such as the Super-Kamiokande and IceCube Neutrino Observatories, to search for these elusive particles. However, due to their weak interactions, it may be some time before antineutrinos are detected from the Big Bang.

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