Research Hub
Timeline
A chronology of neutrino physics — from Pauli's 1930 postulate through the 2015 oscillation Nobel, 2017 CEvNS observation, and 2025 JUNO first results.
1930s
2 events- 1930Theory
Pauli postulates the neutrino
Open letter to the Tübingen nuclear physics conference proposes a neutral, spin-½, nearly massless particle to save conservation of energy and momentum in beta decay.
- 1934Theory
Fermi's theory of beta decay
Four-fermion contact interaction quantitatively reproduces the beta spectrum and establishes the Fermi coupling constant G_F as the scale of weak interactions.
1950s
2 events- 1956Experiment
Cowan-Reines detection
First direct observation of the neutrino, 26 years after its postulate, using inverse beta decay on protons in cadmium-doped water at the Savannah River reactor.
- 1957Theory
Pontecorvo proposes oscillation
By analogy with neutral-kaon mixing, Pontecorvo suggests that neutrinos may oscillate between states — the theoretical seed of the later PMNS framework.
1960s
2 events- 1962Experiment
Discovery of the muon neutrino
Lederman, Schwartz, and Steinberger at Brookhaven establish that νμ is distinct from νe, winning the 1988 Nobel Prize.
- 1968Experiment
Homestake solar neutrino deficit
Davis measures approximately one-third of the Standard Solar Model prediction, opening a thirty-year puzzle in neutrino physics.
1970s
2 events- 1973Experiment
Weak neutral currents at Gargamelle
CERN bubble-chamber observation of Z-mediated neutrino-electron scattering opens the neutral-current sector of weak interactions.
- 1974Theory
Freedman predicts CEvNS
Coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering predicted as a large-cross-section process with few-keV recoil signature — too small to detect with 1970s technology.
1980s
2 events- 1983Experiment
Kamiokande begins operation
3 kt water-Cherenkov detector in Japan, originally built for proton decay search, opens the large-volume imaging technique.
- 1987Experiment
Supernova 1987A neutrino burst
Kamiokande-II, IMB, and Baksan detect 24 neutrinos from the LMC supernova — the first extragalactic neutrinos ever observed.
1990s
1 event- 1998Experiment
Super-Kamiokande discovers oscillation
Zenith-angle-dependent νμ deficit announced at Neutrino '98 in Takayama — first evidence that neutrinos have mass.
2000s
3 events- 2001Experiment
SNO resolves the solar neutrino problem
Heavy-water measurement decomposes solar flux into flavor components: total matches the SSM, νe fraction is one third.
- 2002Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize: Davis and Koshiba
Awarded 'for pioneering contributions to astrophysics, in particular for the detection of cosmic neutrinos.'
- 2003Experiment
KamLAND confirms reactor oscillation
Reactor ν̄e at ~180 km show matching oscillation parameters — terrestrial confirmation of the solar-sector result.
2010s
7 events- 2011Experiment
IceCube completes at South Pole
Cubic-kilometer ice Cherenkov detector enters full operation, opening the high-energy neutrino-astronomy frontier.
- 2012Experiment
Daya Bay measures θ₁₃
Short-baseline reactor experiment measures the last-missing mixing angle at 5.2σ, enabling future CP-violation searches.
- 2013Experiment
IceCube detects astrophysical neutrinos
Diffuse flux above 30 TeV identified in 988 days of data — first detection of neutrinos of extragalactic origin.
- 2015Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize: Kajita and McDonald
Awarded 'for the discovery of neutrino oscillations, which shows that neutrinos have mass.'
- 2017Experiment
COHERENT observes CEvNS
43 years after Freedman's prediction, coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering is detected at 6.7σ in a 14.6 kg CsI[Na] crystal.
- 2017Experiment
IceCube identifies TXS 0506+056
Real-time 290 TeV neutrino alert correlates with a flaring blazar — first plausible identification of a cosmic neutrino source.
- 2019Experiment
KATRIN starts tritium-endpoint data-taking
The Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino experiment begins the most precise direct kinematic mass measurement to date.
2020s
5 events- 2020Experiment
Borexino detects CNO solar neutrinos
First direct observation of neutrinos from the CNO fusion cycle — the last unobserved branch of solar fusion.
- 2022Experiment
IceCube identifies NGC 1068
A point-source search across 10 years of data identifies the nearby Seyfert galaxy NGC 1068 as the strongest hot spot at 4.2σ.
- 2024Experiment
KATRIN reports m(νe) < 0.45 eV
World-leading direct kinematic bound on the absolute neutrino mass scale.
- 2024Applied
The Schubart Master Equation
Holger Thorsten Schubart formulates, in collaboration with the Neutrino Energy Group, a unified engineering expression that integrates the CEvNS cross-section, cosmic-ray muon flux, ambient electromagnetic contributions, and thermal gradients into a single framework for neutrinovoltaic conversion.
- 2025Experiment
JUNO reports first oscillation spectrum
20 kt liquid-scintillator detector at 53 km from Chinese reactors delivers the precision spectral data needed for mass-ordering determination.
No events match the current filter.