A history of some recent attempts to go beyond the standard model
Weak interactions and neutrinos are at the roots of the standard model of elementary particles (SM). Since the seventies, just after the formulation of this theory, physicists have immediately tried to identify its shortcomings, aiming at making it even more complete. A breakthrough came, not from the process pointed out by most theorists - proton decay - but rather from neutrino physics; and it is ironic to note that the role of taking us beyond the frontiers of SM has been played by neutrino oscillations, theoretized before the SM. A very interesting open question in particle physics concerns exactly the nature of neutrino masses, which leads us to the very foundation of the theory of matter and of the SM. Standard cosmology also highlights further limitations of SM and provides us with important information about neutrino masses, but in a manner that is entangled with our understanding of gravity. Some promising directions of development, concerning the long-term perspective of the discussion, are finally mentioned.
Friday, 15 October 2021, ore 14:30