Physics Colloquium - Prof. Juan Pablo Yanez

Abstract

It has been almost 90 years since the neutrino was first proposed. While we have learned a great deal about it in that time, this enigmatic particle continues to puzzle us to this day. Extremely hard to detect, with a tiny mass and rather unusual properties, neutrinos have given us a first glance of what lies beyond the Standard Model of Particle Physics and, more recently, they have opened a new window to explore phenomena in the Universe. In this colloquium, I outline our current neutrino knowledge, the potential for discoveries and the implications they might have to the general physics landscape. I pay particular attention to the role of two fascinating neutrino experiments, IceCube and Canada’s own SNO+, as well as future detection technologies that could change the way we search for these elusive particles.