Edward Teller and Nuclei: Along the Trail to the Neutrino

TL;DR

This paper reviews Edward Teller's key contributions to nuclear physics, focusing on the Gamow-Teller operator and the Goldhaber-Teller model, and their significance in understanding weak interactions and neutrinos.

Contribution

It highlights Teller's pioneering work on the Gamow-Teller operator and the Goldhaber-Teller model, advancing the understanding of nuclear beta decay and electric dipole transitions.

Findings

Introduction of the Gamow-Teller operator in beta decay

Formulation of the Goldhaber-Teller model for electric dipole transitions

Enhanced understanding of weak interactions and neutrino properties

Abstract

I discuss two of Edward Teller's contributions to nuclear physics, the introduction of the Gamow-Teller operator in beta decay and the formulation of the Goldhaber-Teller model for electric dipole transitions, in the context of efforts to understand the weak interaction and the nature of the neutrino.