Related papers: Colloquium: Majorana Fermions in nuclear, particle…
We present a panoramic view of the main scientific manuscripts left unpublished by the brightest Italian theoretical physicist of the XX century, Ettore Majorana. We deal in particular: (i) with his very original "study" notes (the…
In this study, the Majorana equation for particles with arbitrary spin is solved for a half-integer spin free particle. The solution for the fundamental state, corresponding to the reference frame in which the particle is at rest, is…
Ettore Majorana proposed an important improvement to the Thomas-Fermi statistical model for atoms, with a communication at the general meeting of the Italian Physical Society, held in Rome, on December 29th, 1928, regularly published on…
Neutrinoless double-beta decay is a hypothesized process where in some even-even nuclei it might be possible for two neutrons to simultaneously decay into two protons and two electrons without emitting neutrinos. This is possible only if…
We comment on a recent paper announcing the discovery of a previously unknown publication of Ettore Majorana on the Thomas-Fermi atomic model. In pointing out that such a publication was not written by Majorana, we correct some…
We discuss the structure of the Dirac equation and how the nilpotent and the Majorana operators arise naturally in this context. This provides a link between Kauffman's work on discrete physics, iterants and Majorana Fermions and the work…
At the availability of a nonzero mass, the same neutrino regardless of whether it refers to Dirac or Majorana fermions, must possess simultaneously each of the anapole and electric dipole moments. Their interaction with the field of…
We ask the question whether neutrino physics with momentum space Majorana spinors, the eigenvectors of the particle--antiparticle conjugation operator, C=i\gamma_2 K (with K standing for complex conjugation), is different but physics with…
In recent years, the study of Majorana signatures in quantum transport has become a central focus in condensed matter physics. Here, we present a rigorous and systematic derivation of the fermionic superoperator describing the open quantum…
The thermodynamic equations of state for Majorana and Dirac fermions are quite different even in the limit of zero mass. The corresponding equations are derived from general principles, and then applied to neutrinos. The nature of the…
The standard model of elementary interactions has long qualified as a theory of matter, in which the postulated conservation laws (one baryonic and three leptonic) acquire theoretical meaning. However, recent observations of lepton number…
After nearly 80 years since the first guess on its existence, neutrino still escapes our insight: the mass and the true nature (Majorana or Dirac) of this particle is still unknown. In the past ten years, neutrino oscillation experiments…
We report on the retrieval of the last missing papers of the "Senatore folder", given by Majorana to one student of his in Naples in 1938, just before his disappearance. The mentioned manuscript is conserved at the Domus Galilaeana in Pisa…
Determining the nature -Dirac or Majorana- of massive neutrinos is one of the most pressing and challenging problems in the field of neutrino physics. We discuss how one can possibly extract information on the couplings, if any, which might…
The Standard Model is an up-to-date theory that best summarizes current knowledge in particle physics. Although some problems still remain open, it represents the leading model which all physicists refer to. One of the pillars which…
We review the particle physics aspects of neutrino-less double beta decay. This process can be mediated by light massive Majorana neutrinos (standard interpretation) or by something else (non-standard interpretations). The physics potential…
Even after the discovery of neutrino flavour oscillations, based on data from atmospheric, solar, reactor, and accelerator experiments, many characteristics of the neutrino remain unknown. Only the neutrino square-mass differences and the…
The idea of a `Majorana mass' to make a chiral neutrino really neutral is here reconsidered. It is pointed out that such an approach, unlike Majorana's (non-chiral) old one, does not strictly lead, in general, to a true self-conjugate…
Experimental observation of Majorana fermion matter gives a new impetus to the understanding of the Lorentz symmetry and its extension, the geometrical properties of the ambient space-time structure, matter--antimatter symmetry and some new…
This paper reviews the current status and future outlook of neutrinoless double beta decay searches, which try to provide an answer to the fundamental question of whether neutrinos are Dirac or Majorana particles.