Defining Absence: The Origin of "Neutrinoless" and How it Obscures the Physics of Matter Creation

Abstract

The term 'neutrinoless' is a cornerstone of modern particle physics, yet it defines a fundamental process by what is missing rather than what is created. We trace the origins of this privative neologism to a 1953 experimental claim and show how a 'sociology of suspicion' transformed Ettore Majorana's affirmative ontology into an agnostic shorthand. By examining this linguistic shift, we argue that our current terminology may obscure the profound physical meaning of the search. Reclaiming the language of 'matter creation' is not merely a semantic choice, but a timely conceptual shift to bridge the gap between experimental caution and the radical character of the laws of nature we aim to uncover.

6 pages, 3 figures. This essay traces the origins of the neologism 'neutrinoless' to the 1950s and proposes returning to the affirmative language of 'matter creation'. Accepted for publication in 'Giornale di Fisica'