Poles assisted in Nobel Prize studies

The Swedish Nobel Institute decided on Tuesday to award this year’s Physics prize to Arthur B. McDonald and Takaaki Kajita.

“Around the turn of the millennium, Takaaki Kajita presented the discovery that neutrinos from the atmosphere switch between two identities on their way to the Super-Kamiokande detector in Japan,” the Nobel Institute said in a statement.

“Meanwhile, the research group in Canada led by Arthur B. McDonald could demonstrate that the neutrinos from the Sun were not disappearing on their way to Earth. Instead they were captured with a different identity when arriving to the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory.”

Research into the Super-Kamiokande was conducted with the help of physicists from Poland, including prof. Danuta Kiełczewska, from the University of Warsaw, who was involved in the experimentation and also collaborated with other Poles on the project, said Piotr Mijakowski from the National Centre for Nuclear Research (NCBJ).

The discovery gave researchers a deeper understanding of the laws of nature, the expert said.

“This is a very basic science. With this type of calculations, we know much more about the nature of the universe, the structure of matter. I do not think we can say for now how this helps us in practical terms,” Mijakowski said. (rg/rk)