What mechanism generates neutrino masses? · revision history
Revision 2
Accepted · core change · record
Changes against revision 1:
- Title
- What mechanism generates neutrino masses?
- Plain
- Neutrinos are at least a million times lighter than the electron. They could get mass like other particles but with a tiny coupling, or through a seesaw with very heavy partner particles.
- Precise · changed · core
- Revision 1: Identify the origin of $m_{\nu} < \sim 0.1\ \mathrm{eV}$: Dirac Yukawas with $y \sim 1e-12$ plus right-handed neutrinos, the type I, II or III seesaw ($m_{\nu} \sim y^2 v^2 / M$), or radiative and low-scale mechanisms. An answer is the mechanism together with its scale, confirmed by a signature such as lepton number violation or heavy neutral leptons.
- Revision 2: Identify the origin of $m_{\nu} < \sim 0.1\ \mathrm{eV}$: Dirac Yukawas with $y \sim 10^{-12}$ plus right-handed neutrinos, the type I, II or III seesaw ($m_{\nu} \sim y^2 v^2 / M$), or radiative and low-scale mechanisms. An answer is the mechanism together with its scale, confirmed by a signature such as lepton number violation or heavy neutral leptons.
- Settled by
- Observation of neutrinoless double beta decay plus identification of the associated new states or interactions at colliders or in rare decays.
- Kind
- phenomenon
- Answer type
- mechanism
- References
- (empty)
- Literature status
- open
- Status note
- (empty)
- Posed since
- 1998
Decisions
- Accept · 2026-10-15 · record