Generational Similarities: Neutrino Connection?

[alemsalem]

they are in two different generations, but they would behave in the exact same way.
maybe we can tell from neutrinos?

Thanks!

 

[AdrianTheRock]

Most obvious analogy I can think of is the three quark colours. There's no experiment we can do that can tell us the actual colour of any specific quark at any given time. And yet, we were able to infer the existence of colours - ie there being three different types of each quark flavour - from experimental evidence such as that (a) without this additional quantum number, baryons would be symmetric in the interchange of any two quarks, in contravention of the Pauli principle, and (b) the branching ratios of reactions such as e⁺e^- → hadrons would be three times too large as compared to those into eg muons.

 

[Bill_K]

(b) the branching ratios of reactions such as e+e- → hadrons would be three times too large as compared to those into eg muons.

Yes, this is the point. Universality of the weak interactions requires that the weak current is made up of equal parts from eν_e, μν_μ, etc. If e and μ could not otherwise be distinguished, the additional factor of two in the amplitude of any reaction that produced these particles would call our attention to the fact that there was two of them.

 

[alemsalem]

Thanks,, so for example beta decay would be happening at twice the rate?
is the extra factor of two compared to theory or other decays?

 

[arivero]

And of course, if it is a lighter mass, such as the one of the electron, you could consider chemistry.

 

[alemsalem]

And of course, if it is a lighter mass, such as the one of the electron, you could consider chemistry.

cool! it would also change the periodic table if we had two "electrons".