lepton number violation

Lepton number violation refers to processes in particle physics where the total number of leptons (like electrons and neutrinos) changes, violating the principle that this number should be conserved in most interactions. In simpler terms, during certain rare events, you can end up with more or fewer leptons than you started with. This is important because it could provide insights into new physics beyond the Standard Model, particularly phenomena like neutrino masses and the imbalance between matter and antimatter in the universe. Such violations prompt scientists to explore deeper laws governing our universe.