Neutrinos to probe nuclear structure?

In summary, neutrinos are very useful for studying the structure of atomic nuclei. However, they cannot be used in experiments to probe the effects of gravity, so another method must be found.
  • #1
Rlam90
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Do you think it would be possible to use a beam of neutrinos to probe the structure of atomic nuclei? Since they do not interact electronically, they would be useful to study the structure of both neutrons and protons, either through gravitational deflection or weak interactions.

Could this also be used to study quantum gravity by analogy to electrostatic scattering in quantum electrodynamics?

*EDIT* If neutrinos couldn't be used, could a beam of quark-gluon plasma be used?
 
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  • #2
You may be interested in reading about deep inelastic scattering.

Unfortunately, scattering experiments are not useful for trying to see quantum gravity effects because gravity is so weak that any effect it might have on scattering at realistic energies is utterly negligible.
 
  • #3
There's been a lot of work done along these lines at Fermilab and CERN since the late 1960s or early 1970s. I worked on one of these experiments for my Ph.D. in the late '70s / early '80s.

A good phrase for Google searching is "neutrino deep inelastic scattering." For example:

http://www.nevis.columbia.edu/ccfr/index.html

This wasn't the experiment I worked on (I wasn't at Columbia), but it was about the same time and I remember reading about it and seeing presentations about it. It looks like the analysis pages are all gone from that site, but the introductory and history pages are still there.

[Ah, the duck beat me to it while I was Googling and reliving old memories.]
 
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  • #4
In high-energetic collisions, neutrons and protons are not so different - the sea quarks and gluons are the same for both, and both up and down valence quarks have an electric charge (the up just has a larger value). Most interactions happen via the strong interaction, which does not care about the electric charge.
 
  • #5
Okay. well, since nucleons are made of three quarks, one of which has a different electric charge, at any point in time the nucleons must have an instantaneous dipole moment, right? Can this be useful to study their motion?
 
  • #7
Thanks for enlightening me. I love nature. :)
 

What are neutrinos?

Neutrinos are tiny, electrically neutral particles that are among the fundamental building blocks of the universe. They are extremely light and can pass through matter without interacting with it, making them difficult to detect.

How can neutrinos be used to probe nuclear structure?

Neutrinos can be used as probes to study the structure of atomic nuclei. When neutrinos interact with a nucleus, they can reveal information about the internal structure and properties of the nucleus, such as its size, shape, and composition.

What are the advantages of using neutrinos as probes for nuclear structure?

Compared to other types of particles, neutrinos have unique properties that make them ideal for probing nuclear structure. They have a very small mass, no electric charge, and interact weakly with matter, allowing them to penetrate deeply into nuclei and provide detailed information.

How are neutrinos produced for nuclear structure experiments?

Neutrinos are produced in a variety of ways, such as during nuclear reactions, radioactive decays, and particle accelerators. For nuclear structure experiments, neutrinos are typically produced by colliding high-energy protons with a target material, resulting in the production of pions which then decay into neutrinos.

What are some current experiments using neutrinos to probe nuclear structure?

There are several ongoing experiments around the world that use neutrinos to study nuclear structure, such as MINERvA, T2K, and NOvA. These experiments use different techniques and target different nuclei to provide a comprehensive understanding of nuclear structure and its role in the universe.

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