Neutrinos in physics and astrophysics

TL;DR

This paper provides a comprehensive overview of neutrino physics and astrophysics, highlighting their historical development, significance in the Standard Model, current evidence for neutrino mass, and their roles in cosmology.

Contribution

It offers a detailed summary of neutrino properties, mass scenarios, and their impact on astrophysics and cosmology, integrating recent experimental bounds and positive indications.

Findings

Current bounds suggest neutrinos may have mass.

Neutrinos play a crucial role in astrophysics and cosmology.

Historical development of neutrino understanding is outlined.

Abstract

An elementary general overview of the neutrino physics and astrophysics is given. We start by a historical account of the development of our understanding of neutrinos and how they helped to unravel the structure of the Standard Model. We discuss why it is so important to establish if neutrinos are massive and we introduce the main scenarios to provide them a mass. The present bounds and the positive indications in favor of non-zero neutrino masses are discussed as well as the major role they play in astrophysics and cosmology.