Observation of Tau Neutrino Interactions

TL;DR

The paper reports the first observation of tau neutrino interactions in a neutrino beam, confirming the existence of tau neutrinos and their interactions as predicted by the Standard Model.

Contribution

First experimental evidence of tau neutrino interactions using nuclear emulsion detectors, validating Standard Model predictions.

Findings

Four tau neutrino interactions observed

Estimated background of 0.34 events

Results consistent with Standard Model expectations

Abstract

The DONUT experiment has analyzed 203 neutrino interactions recorded in nuclear emulsion targets. A decay search has found evidence of four tau neutrino interactions with an estimated background of 0.34 events. This number is consistent with the Standard Model expectation.