Tau neutrino

Tau neutrino

Composition	Elementary particle
Statistics	Fermionic
Family	Lepton
Generation	Third
Interactions	Weak,gravity
Symbol	ν τ
Antiparticle	Tau antineutrino ( ν τ)
Theorized	Mid 1970s
Discovered	DONUT collaboration(2000)
Mass	Nonzero (SeeNeutrino mass)
Electric charge	0e
Color charge	No
Spin	⁠1/2⁠
Weak isospin	⁠1/2⁠
Weak hypercharge	−1
Chirality	left-handed (for right-handed neutrinos, seesterile neutrino)

Thetau neutrinoortauon neutrinois anelementary particlewhich has the symbol
ν
_τand zeroelectric charge.Together with thetau (τ),it forms the thirdgenerationofleptons,hence the name tauneutrino.Its existence was immediately implied after the tau particle was detected in a series of experiments between 1974 and 1977 byMartin Lewis Perlwith his colleagues at theSLAC–LBLgroup.The discovery of the tau neutrino was announced in July 2000 by theDONUT collaboration(Direct Observation of the Nu Tau).In 2024, theIceCube Neutrino Observatorypublished findings of seven astrophysical tau neutrino candidates.

Discovery

Main article:DONUT

TheDONUT experimentfromFermilabwas built during the 1990s to specifically detect the tau neutrino. These efforts came to fruition in July 2000, when the DONUT collaboration reported its detection.The tau neutrino is last of the leptons, and is the second most recent discovered particle of theStandard Model(i.e., it was observed 12 years before the discovery of theHiggs bosonin 2012).

See also

• Electron neutrino
• Muon neutrino
• PMNS matrix