Neutrinos are the most common particles with mass in the universe. Neutrinos interact very little with matter, making measurements tough. Scientists usually make them using huge nuclear reactors or particle accelerators that create unstable atoms. These atoms break down and release neutrinos, allowing researchers to study the particles in beams.
Now, physicists at MIT have designed a neutrino laser. It would create a quick burst of these particles by cooling a gas of radioactive atoms with lasers to temperatures colder than space between stars. Radioactive atoms are unstable and naturally break down over time, releasing neutrinos. At these super-cold levels, the atoms should enter a special quantum state where they act like one single thing. In this state, the atoms would decay together at the same time, speeding up the release of neutrinos. This research is described in a paper published in Physical Review Letters.
Syncing decay for faster emission
This speedup happens because of a quantum effect similar to how lasers make bright light from synced photons. Normally, radioactive decay is slow. For example, rubidium-83 atoms have a half-life of 82 days, meaning half of them decay in that time, each giving off one neutrino. But in the cold quantum state, the one million atoms could decay in just minutes, producing a strong beam of neutrinos much faster than usual.
The idea builds on a Bose-Einstein condensate, or BEC, which is a form of matter where cooled particles stop moving on their own and behave as one wave. No one has made a BEC from radioactive atoms before because they decay too quickly. Adding superradiance, where atoms emit energy in perfect sync, solves the puzzle. Calculations show this combo accelerates decay and neutrino output.
If tests work in a small lab setup, a neutrino laser could send signals through Earth to underground places. It might also make radioisotopes, which are useful byproducts for medical scans and cancer checks. The physicists plan to trap and cool the atoms with lasers to see the effect happen on its own.