“If the effects that we’re seeing are really due to neutrinos then they are interacting with matter in an entirely new way,” Fischbach said. “You cannot explain this phenomenon if they are attributed to neutrinos in any conventional way, so some new piece of physics must be out there.”
If these decay rate variations cannot be attributed to neutrinos, the discovery of non-stochastic, non-constant decay rates still raises the question of what forces are causing the variations.
“It’s also possible that we’re seeing the effects of other kinds of matter, so called dark matter, and a lot of things out there that can produce effects that look like neutrinos,” Fischbach said. “Since our lives depend on assuming radioactive decay rates are constant [i.e. carbon dating, medical applications], if they’re not, there will be a lot of changes in the way we [think of] things.”
another article author interview
http://www.stanforddaily.com/2016/12/01/physicists-propose-new-system-for-detecting-neutrinos/
“If the effects that we’re seeing are really due to neutrinos then they are interacting with matter in an entirely new way,” Fischbach said. “You cannot explain this phenomenon if they are attributed to neutrinos in any conventional way, so some new piece of physics must be out there.”
If these decay rate variations cannot be attributed to neutrinos, the discovery of non-stochastic, non-constant decay rates still raises the question of what forces are causing the variations.
“It’s also possible that we’re seeing the effects of other kinds of matter, so called dark matter, and a lot of things out there that can produce effects that look like neutrinos,” Fischbach said. “Since our lives depend on assuming radioactive decay rates are constant [i.e. carbon dating, medical applications], if they’re not, there will be a lot of changes in the way we [think of] things.”