Neutrino Story: One Tiny Particle’s Grand Role in the Cosmos

Rabindra N. Mohapatra is a Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland, College Park. Mohapatra received his Ph. D. at the University of Rochester in 1969 and did his post-doctoral research at Stony Brook University and the University of Maryland. He was a Professor at the City University of New York before joining the University of Maryland in 1983.Mohapatra has worked extensively on neutrino physics. He is one of the proponents of the seesaw mechanism for neutrino masses and the left-right symmetric theories of weak interactions. He is also the co-proponent of the new particle related to neutrino mass called the “majoron.” He suggested the idea of neutron-anti-neutron oscillation, which led to many experimental searches for this process.Mohapatra has several seminal papers on grand unified theories of particles and forces. He also co-authored a paper on the possibility that there may be a small violation of the celebrated Pauli Exclusion Principle inQuantum Mechanics, which led to several experimental searches for this effect. Mohapatra published a single-author book on “Unification and Supersymmetry: Frontiers of Quark Lepton Physics” published by Springer-Verlag, which went into third edition in 2003, and coauthored a  book on “Massive Neutrinos in Physics and Astrophysics” published by World Scientific, which also went into a third edition in 2004.Mohapatra is a fellow of the American Physical Society and a fellow of the Indian National Academy of Science. He was awarded the Humboldt Prize in 2005 for his research on neutrinos and was awarded the Distinguished Scientists award by the American chapter of the Indian physicists association in 2000. He was awarded the degree of Doctor of Science by the North Orissa University.

• 1 Introduction.- 2 Particles as building blocks of matter.- 3 From protons and neutrons to a zoo of particles.- 4 Order in the zoo and quarks.- 5 Forces that keep the universe together.- 6 Forces are also caused by particles.- 7 Neutrino is born as an idea.- 8 From idea to reality: neutrino story unfolds in slow motion.- 9 Neutrino discovered.- 10 Standard model of the particles and forces.- 11 Forces in the standard model and symmetries.- 12 More physics beyond the standard model or end of physics now?.- 13 Neutrinos Oscillate and hence they weigh.- 14 What have we learnt about neutrinos from neutrino oscillation experiments?.- 15 Mendeleev’s periodic table.- 16 A brief overview of the Big Bang Theory of the Universe.- 17 Inflationary universe.- 18 From quarks to protons and neutrons and then to helium and beryllium and the dance of atoms.- 19 Stars as the cooking pots for heavy nuclei.- 20 Neutrino mass hints at mirror symmetry in Nature.- 21 Mirror symmetric weak force and neutrino mass.- 22 Hints of other new physics from neutrino mass.- 23 Origin of matter and neutrinos.- 24 Dark universe.- 25 Neutrinos from Heavenly sources.- 26 Anthropic principle.- 27 What lies ahead in the future?.- Epilogue.- Glossary.