Emission of neutrinos and antineutrinos

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    Emission Neutrinos
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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the emission of neutrinos and antineutrinos during beta plus and beta minus decay processes. Participants explore the reasons behind their emission, touching on concepts such as energy conservation, lepton number conservation, and angular momentum.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants question the "actual purpose" of neutrino emission, suggesting it may relate to energy conservation or other underlying reasons.
  • It is noted that the absence of neutrinos would violate the conservation of lepton number, and that energy conservation alone would lead to fixed energies for the nucleus and electron, which contradicts observations.
  • Historical context is provided, indicating that neutrinos were proposed to resolve issues related to angular momentum and the energy spectrum in beta decays.
  • Participants express curiosity about leptons and seek sources for further information, as well as inquire about the relationship between beta particle emission and angular momentum conservation.
  • There is a clarification that elementary particles, including neutrinos, are not "made up of" anything, and energy is described as a physical property rather than a substance.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the "purpose" of neutrino emission, with some arguing against the notion of responsibility for conservation laws. Multiple viewpoints regarding the implications of neutrino emission and its role in conservation laws remain present.

Contextual Notes

Participants express uncertainty about the definitions and implications of lepton number and angular momentum conservation in the context of beta decay, indicating a need for clarification on these concepts.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to those studying particle physics, particularly in understanding beta decay processes and the role of neutrinos and antineutrinos in conservation laws.

jishnu
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My question is what is the actual purpose for the emission of neutrinos and antineutrinos during the beta + and beta - decay of an atom respectively?
 
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What do you mean by "actual purpose"? Nature does not need a deeper purpose to work the way it does.
 
Moderator's note: Thread level changed to "I" based on the OP's apparent level of background knowledge.
 
Orodruin said:
What do you mean by "actual purpose"? Nature does not need a deeper purpose to work the way it does.
I meant why is it being emitted ie, whether simply for energy conservation or is there something more than that behind their emission!
 
PeterDonis said:
Moderator's note: Thread level changed to "I" based on the OP's apparent level of background knowledge.
Sorry for that, because its my mistake that I don't know on what basis this thread status is given. Where can I get more informations about this, I need to know because I am new to PF
 
The process without a neutrino violates the conservation of lepton number.

It would be possible in terms of energy, but it would give nucleus and electron a fixed energy, which does not agree with observations.
jishnu said:
Sorry for that, because its my mistake that I don't know on what basis this thread status is given.
The level of answers/discussion you would like to have. The tooltips show the meaning of the symbols.
 
mfb said:
The process without a neutrino violates the conservation of lepton number.

It would be possible in terms of energy, but it would give nucleus and electron a fixed energy, which does not agree with observations.The level of answers/discussion you would like to have. The tooltips show the meaning of the symbols.
What are these leptons actually, could you please provide me sources that provide more informations about them, one more question regarding the emission of beta particles remains, is there any connection between their emission and the conservation of angular momentum of the system before and after the emission takes place.
 
mfb said:
The process without a neutrino violates the conservation of lepton number.

Historically, the more important violated quantum number was angular momentum. Pauli proposed the neutrino to address two problems:
  • The observed apparent violation of angular momentum in beta decays.
  • The observed energy spectrum of beta decays was not consistent with a two-body decay, i.e., your second point:
It would be possible in terms of energy, but it would give nucleus and electron a fixed energy, which does not agree with observations.

At the time, lepton number was not considered an issue.

jishnu said:
What are these leptons actually, could you please provide me sources that provide more informations about them, one more question regarding the emission of beta particles remains, is there any connection between their emission and the conservation of angular momentum of the system before and after the emission takes place.
Leptons are fermions that do not interact via the strong interactions. In other words, electrons, muons, taus, and neutrinos.
 
Orodruin said:
Historically, the more important violated quantum number was angular momentum. Pauli proposed the neutrino to address two problems:
  • The observed apparent violation of angular momentum in beta decays.
  • The observed energy spectrum of beta decays was not consistent with a two-body decay, i.e., your second point:
At the time, lepton number was not considered an issue.Leptons are fermions that do not interact via the strong interactions. In other words, electrons, muons, taus, and neutrinos.
Thank you for the provided explanation.
So, can I conclude that the emitted neutrinos and antineutrinos are responsible for conservation of
1. angular momentum
2. lepton numbers
And what are they(neutrinos & antineutrinos) actually made up of, are they mere energy packets..!
 
  • #10
jishnu said:
So, can I conclude that the emitted neutrinos and antineutrinos are responsible for conservation of
1. angular momentum
2. lepton numbers
I would not put it like this. There is no assignment of ”responsibility”. However, without the neutrinos, those things would be violated (just as they would be if there was no electron/positron).

jishnu said:
And what are they(neutrinos & antineutrinos) actually made up of, are they mere energy packets..!
Elementary particles are not ”made up of” anything. Energy is not a substance that things can be made up of, it is a physical property of things.
 
  • #11
Thank you all... [emoji1]
 

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