 The first observation of a neutrino in a hydrogen bubble chamber was made in 1970: a (non-visible) neutrino collided with a proton (which then moved along the short line, above the central track), producing a muon (at the origin of the long central rectilinear trace) and a pion (at the origin of the trace just below the muon). | |
| Composition | Elementary particle |
|---|---|
| Statistics | Fermionic |
| Family | Lepton |
| Generation | Second |
| Interactions | Weak, Gravity |
| Symbol | ν μ |
| Antiparticle | Muon antineutrino ( ν μ) |
| Theorized | (1940s) |
| Discovered | Leon Lederman, Melvin Schwartz and Jack Steinberger (1962) |
| Mass | Small but non-zero. See neutrino mass. |
| Electric charge | 0 e |
| Color charge | No |
| Spin | 1/2 |
| Weak isospin | 1/2 |
| Weak hypercharge | −1 |
| Chirality | left-handed (for right-handed neutrinos, see sterile neutrino) |
The muon neutrino is an elementary particle which has the symbol
ν
μ and zero electric charge. Together with the muon it forms the second generation of leptons, hence the name muon neutrino. It was discovered in 1962 by Leon Lederman, Melvin Schwartz and Jack Steinberger. The discovery was rewarded with the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physics.