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UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS – 27th March 2025

Home / UPSC / Current Affairs / New data keeps search for rare subatomic mystery going

New data keeps search for rare subatomic mystery going

New data keeps search for rare subatomic mystery going

Why in News?

The AMoRE experiment in South Korea found no evidence of neutrinoless double beta decay (0νββ), reinforcing limits on neutrino mass and its potential as a Majorana particle.

New data keeps search for rare subatomic mystery going

Introduction

  • A recent experiment, AMoRE (Advanced Mo-based Rare Process Experiment) in South Korea, has reported no evidence of neutrinoless double beta decay (0νββ).
  • While this result does not disprove the phenomenon’s existence, it has imposed stringent limits on its possibility, continuing the scientific quest for understanding neutrinos.

Understanding Neutrinos

  • Second-most abundant subatomic particle after photons.
  • Produced in massive quantities during the Big Bang, radioactive decay, stellar explosions, and nuclear fusion (e.g., in the Sun).
  • Hard to detect due to weak interactions with matter.
  • Have three types (“flavours”), but their exact masses remain unknown.

What is Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay (0νββ)?

  • In normal beta decay, a nucleus sheds excess energy by converting a neutron into a proton, emitting an electron and an anti-neutrino.
  • In rare double beta decay, two neutrons convert into protons simultaneously, releasing two electrons and two anti-neutrinos.
  • 0νββ Hypothesis: If neutrinos are Majorana particles (i.e., their own anti-particles), the emitted anti-neutrino from one neutron could be absorbed by the second neutron—leading to a decay that emits only electrons and no neutrinos.

Why is 0νββ Important?

  • Proves whether neutrinos are Majorana particles.
  • Helps determine neutrino mass. AMoRE estimated it to be less than 0.22-0.65 billionths of a proton—suggesting an extremely low mass.
  • Challenges the Standard Model of Particle Physics. The current model assumes neutrinos are massless, so detecting 0νββ could expose theoretical gaps.

Findings of the AMoRE Experiment

  • Used molybdenum-100 (Mo-100) nuclei cooled to near absolute zero to detect 0νββ.
  • No evidence was found, but physicists estimated that Mo-100 would take at least 10²⁴ years for half its atoms to decay via 0νββ.
  • Future experiments will analyze 100 kg of Mo-100 to improve sensitivity.

Conclusion

The non-detection of 0νββ in AMoRE does not mean the phenomenon does not exist—it simply reinforces the rarity of the event. The pursuit of 0νββ remains crucial for understanding neutrino mass, matter-antimatter asymmetry, and potential beyond-Standard-Model physics.

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