Dr. Ilja Doršner: On matter stability
Povzetek:
On matter stability
Dr. Ilja Doršner, Institut Jožef Stefan, Ljubljana in Faculty of Natural Sciences, Universty of Sarajevo
The question of stability of matter is at the heart of major scientific advances of the last two centuries. A breakthrough discovery of the so-called spontaneous radioactivity-a process that is in effect a decay of an unstable atomic nucleus-by the French scientist Henri Becquerel in 1896 has simply revolutionized modern physics. It is thus not surprising that the stability of nucleons has also been at the forefront of both experimental and theoretical research for decades now. However, despite all the experimental effort to push relevant limits (and plethora of optimistic predictions from theorists) proton is yet to decay.
I will review the current experimental status of searches for nucleon instability and what we could learn if and when proton decays. I will accordingly present some predictive theories that should provide good motivation to continue search for these extraordinary processes. After all, a major push in this direction might create a breakthrough in other areas of elementary particle physics. This has already happened not so long ago when pushing towards better limits on proton lifetime had led to major breakthroughs in neutrino physics. And, it just might happen again.
