The standard theory of neutrino oscillations is reviewed, highlighting the main assumptions: the definition of the flavor states, the equal-momentum assumption and the time = distance assumption. It is shown that the standard flavor states are correct approximations of the states that describe neutrinos in oscillation experiments. The equal-momentum assumption is shown to be unnecessary for the derivation of the oscillation probability. The time = distance assumption derives from the wave-packet character of the propagating neutrinos. We present a simple quantum-mechanical wave-packet model which allows us to describe the coherence and localization of neutrino oscillations.
We show there is a non-null probability to produce neutrinos of the ``wrong'' type in general decays, within the SM augmented by the known three massive neutrinos and nontrivial mixing. Such effect is equivalent to an intrinsic flavor violation (lepton flavor violation) at creation without requiring neutrino propagation. The exact amount of flavor violation depends on the neutrino flavor state to be detected. For realistic conditions, the violation is tiny but much larger than other indirect lepton flavor violation processes not involving neutrinos as final states. For neutrinos produced in a …
In this paper, we study the effect of active-neutrino-sterile-neutrino mixing in the expected high-energy astrophysical neutrino flavor content. Non-unitarity in the measurement of the three active neutrinos can be due to the existence of sterile neutrino states. We introduce the concept of the four-flavor tetrahedron in order to visualize the lack of unitarity in the astrophysical neutrino three-flavor triangle. We demonstrate that active-sterile neutrino mixings modify the allowed region of the astrophysical flavor ratio from the standard case. However, a projection of the four-flavor tetrah…
We demonstrate that sizable neutrino flavor oscillations can be generated in a model with large extra spacetime dimensions even if the physics on the brane is flavor-diagonal, the bulk neutrino theory is flavor-neutral, and the brane/bulk couplings are flavor-blind. This is thus a compact model for addressing neutrino flavor oscillations in higher dimensions. We also discuss several phenomenological aspects of the ``bulk-mediated'' neutrino oscillations inherent in this model, and show that this model contains some potentially important new phenomenological features in the limit of large brane…
A neutrino mass dominance quantity is introduced for tagging the neutrino flavor in the phenomenological two-parameter four neutrino mixing matrix with two neutrino mass doublets and thorough maximal neutrino doublet mixing. While there is no hierarchy of the neutrino masses in the neutrino flavor eigenstates of this model, it may rather be a special hierarchy of the mass dominance ratios in these eigenstates. A neutrino flavor hierarchy condition is suggested: a direct link between the neutrino flavor and the flavor of the charged leptons which interconnects the two mixing angles, theta and p…
It is proposed that light neutrinos form a triplet in a global SU(3) flavor symmetry. Within this framework, a symmetry principle predicts sin^2 theta_{23}=0.5 and gives the so called inverted neutrino mass hierarchy, theta _{13}=0 and a small deviation from pi/4 for theta_{12}.
The theory of neutrino flavor rotations is discussed in terms of wave function solutions to the Dirac equation with a neutrino mass matrix. We give a critical review of the nature of neutrino oscillations.
Recent atmospheric neutrino data at Super-Kamiokande suggest the large flavor mixing of neutrinos. Models for the lepton mass matrix, which give the near-maximal flavor mixing, are discussed in the three family model. Especially, details of the models with the $S_3$ or O(3) flavor symmetry are studied.
Large mixing parameters of neutrino mass eigenstates in the neutrino flavor eigenstates are determined, and interpreted as closely related to the neutrino and charged lepton mass-ratio patterns. The three known seemingly different charged lepton and quasi-degenerate neutrino deviation-from-extreme hierarchies are shown to be three particular manifestations of one unifying quadratic hierarchy-rule in lepton flavor physics.
The spin flavor precession (SFP) is investigated in the three neutrino generation case assuming that the neutrinos are Majorana type. Approximate analytical formulas including all transition magnetic moments are provided for the electron neutrino survival probability and electron neutrino -> electron anti-neutrino transition probability in the SFP framework. The accuracy of the formulas is checked out for two different magnetic field profiles in the Sun.
Astrophysical neutrinos are powerful tools to study fundamental properties of particle physics. We perform a general new physics study on ultra high energy neutrino flavor content by introducing effective operators. We find that at the current limits on these operators, new physics terms cause maximal effects on the flavor content, however, the flavor content at Earth is confined to a region related to the initial flavor content.
We extend the work of Carone, Chaurasia and Vasquez on non-supersymmetric models of flavor based on the double tetrahedral group. Three issues are addressed: (1) the sector of flavor-symmetry-breaking fields is simplified and their potential studied explicitly, (2) a flavorful axion is introduced to solve the strong CP problem and (3) the model is extended to include the neutrino sector. We show how the model can accommodate the strong hierarchies manifest in the charged fermion Yukawa matrices, while predicting a qualitatively different form for the light neutrino mass matrix that is consiste…
We discuss flavor charges and states for interacting mixed neutrinos in QFT. We show that the Pontecorvo states are not eigenstates of the flavor charges. This implies that their use in describing the flavor neutrinos produces a violation of lepton charge conservation in the production/detection vertices. The flavor states defined as eigenstates of the flavor charges give the correct representation of mixed neutrinos in charged current weak interaction processes.
Neutrino flavor mixing is discussed in terms of two-component coupled left-handed flavor fields. This is to take into account the fact that the weak interaction couples only to left-handed fields. The flavor fields are written through a rotation matrix, as a linear combination of left-handed free fields. In order to obtain properly normalized wave functions directly from those free fields, states of mixed helicity have to be considered. Neutrino flavor oscillation amplitudes are also derived.
In this paper we discuss the ontology of flavor states of oscillating neutrinos. While an heuristic approach to this subject, experimentally successful in the high energy regime, is generally adopted, a logically consistent definition of flavor states describing neutrinos produced and detected in weak processes is still desirable and essential from a theoretical perspective. Here we briefly review basic facts and present some arguments which suggest that the definition of flavor states as eigenstates of flavor charges is the most reasonable one.
We discuss the linkage between dark matter mass in the one-loop radiative seesaw model and the effective neutrino mass for the neutrino less double beta decay. This linkage, which has been already numerically suggested, is confirmed to be a reasonable relationship by deriving analytical expressions for two zero flavor neutrino mass texture.
By resorting to previous results on flavor mixing in Quantum Field Theory, we show how to consistently define flavor states of mixed neutrinos as eigenstates of the flavor charge operators.
Recently, it was pointed out that the solar and atmospheric neutrino deficits can be explained by oscillations between electroweak doublet and singlet neutrinos in the model of Majorana neutrinos. However, since the model includes no flavor mixing, it cannot explain the recent LSND result. We extend the model to include the flavor mixing, and obtain the explanation of the LSND result together with the solar and atmospheric neutrino deficits. The requirement for the neutrinos to be the hot dark matter selects out only the vacuum oscillation solution to the solar neutrino deficit.
Analytic formulas are presented for three flavor neutrino oscillations in matter in the plane wave approximation. We calculate in particular the time evolution operator in both mass and flavor bases. We also find the transition probabilities expressed as functions of the vacuum mass squared differences, the vacuum mixing angles, and the matter density parameter. The application of this to neutrino oscillations for both atmospheric and long baseline neutrinos in a mantle-core-mantle step function model of the Earth's matter density profile is discussed.
A short review on studies of neutrino flavor oscillations in moving with a constant speed matter is presented. Then neutrino flavor oscillations in matter moving with acceleration are considered. We develop an approach that is valid for both non-relativistic and relativistic matter motion. For both these cases the effective neutrino potentials in accelerating matter are obtained and neutrino flavor oscillation probabilities and the Mikheyev-Smirnov-Wolfenstein resonance conditions are evaluated. The obtained results in the limit of zero matter acceleration reproduce the corresponding expressio…
The high-energy astrophysical neutrinos recently discovered by IceCube opened a new way to test Lorentz and CPT violation through the astrophysical neutrino mixing properties. The flavor ratio of astrophysical neutrinos is a very powerful tool to investigate tiny effects caused by Lorentz and CPT violation. There are 3 main findings; (1) current limits on Lorentz and CPT violation in neutrino sector are not tight and they allow for any flavor ratios, (2) however, the observable flavor ratio on the Earth is tied with the flavor ratio at production, this means we can test both the presence of ne…
Lepton flavor violation in various sectors of the theory can bring important effects on neutrino masses and mixing through wave function renormalization. We examine general conditions for flavor structure of radiative corrections producing the atmospheric and solar neutrino mass splittings from degenerate mass patterns. Also obtained are the mixing angle relations consistent with the experimental results.
The magic texture is one of the successful textures of the flavor neutrino mass matrix for the Majorana type neutrinos. The name "magic" is inspired by the nature of the magic square. We estimate the compatibility of the magic square with the Dirac, instead of the Majorana, flavor neutrino mass matrix. It turned out that some parts of the nature of the magic square are appeared approximately in the Dirac flavor neutrino mass matrix and the magic squares prefer the normal mass ordering rather than the inverted mass ordering for the Dirac neutrinos.
In this paper, we discuss neutrino mass eigenvalues for four flavor neutrino mixing. An extra mass states, in four flavor mixing and possible various combination of CP violating Majorana phases effects the neutrino mass eigenvalues. We have considered the effective Majorana mass m_{e}, related for \,\left(ββ\right)_{0ν\,} decay. In calculation, we consider two different neutrino mass orders, normal and inverted. We find the limits for neutrino mass eigenvalue m_{i} in the different neutrino mass spectrum and the sum of all four neutrino masses is \text{Σ}\text{\ensuremath{\equiv}}m_{1}+m_{2}+m…
We argue that neutrino flavor parameters may exhibit features that are very different from those of quarks and charged leptons. Specifically, within the Froggatt-Nielsen (FN) framework, charged fermion parameters depend on the ratio between two scales, while for neutrinos a third scale--that of lepton number breaking--is involved. Consequently, the selection rules for neutrinos may be different. In particular, if the scale of lepton number breaking is similar to the scale of horizontal symmetry breaking, neutrinos may become flavor-blind even if they carry different horizontal charges. This pr…
We study the evolution of the neutrinos system in rotating matter. Neutrinos are supposed to be mixed massive particles interacting with background fermions by means of the electroweak forces. First we find the solutions of wave equations for the neutrino mass eigenstates in matter. Then we study the behavior of neutrino flavor eigenstates in background matter. The problems of neutrino bound states and neutrino flavor oscillations are discussed. We also derive the analog of the quantum mechanical evolution equation for the system of two flavor neutrinos in rotating matter and analyze its solut…
A new framework for handling flavor symmetry breaking in the neutrino sector is discussed where the source of symmetry breaking is traced to the global property of right-handed neutrinos in extra-dimensional space. Light neutrino phenomenology has rich and robust predictions such as the tri/bi-maximal form of generation mixing, controlled mass spectrum, and no need of flavor mixing couplings in the theory.
We have studied the large mixing angle MSW solution for the solar neutrinos in the non-abelian flavor symmetry. We predict the MNS mixing matrix taking account of the symmetry breakings.
We examine the feasibility of deriving neutrino mixing parameters $δ$ and $θ_{13}$ from the cosmic neutrino flavor composition under the assumption that the flavor ratios of the cosmic neutrinos at the source were $F_{ν_e}+F_{\barν_e}:F_{ν_μ}+F_{\barν_μ}: F_{ν_τ}+F_{\barν_τ}=1:2:0$. We analyze various uncertainties that enter the derivation of $δ$ and $θ_{13}$ from the ratio of the shower-like to $μ$-tracks events which is the only realistic source of information on the flavor composition at neutrino telescopes such as ICECUBE. We then examine to what extent the deviation of the initial flavor…
Recent atmospheric neutrino data at Super-Kamiokande suggest the near-maximal flavor mixing. Models for the lepton mass matrix, which give the near-maximal flavor mixing, are discussed in this report. Mass matrix models are classified according to the mechanism providing the large flavor mixing, and those are reviewed briefly. "Naturalness" of the mass matrix is also discussed in order to select the neutrino mass matrix. Details of the mass matrix with the $S_3$ flavor symmetry are presented.
We consider neutrino oscillations as non stationary phenomenon based on Schrodinger evolution equation and mixed states of neutrinos with definite flavors. We show that time-energy uncertainty relation plays a crucial role in neutrino oscillations. We compare neutrino oscillations with $B_{d}^{0}\leftrightarrows\bar B_{d}^{0}$ oscillations.
It is shown that intrinsic neutrino flavor violation invariably occurs when neutrinos are created within the SM augmented by the known massive neutrinos, with mixing and nondegenerate masses. The effects are very small but much greater than the naive estimate $Δm^2/E_ν^2$ or the branching ratio of indirect flavor violating processes such as $μ\to eγ$ within the SM. We specifically calculate the probability (branching ratio) of pion decay processes with flavor violation, such as $π\to μ\barν_e$, showing nonzero results.
We study the capability of generating correct flavor neutrino mass matrix in a scalar clockwork model. First, we assume that the flavor structure is controlled by the Yukawa couplings as same as the standard model. In this case, the correct flavor neutrino mass matrix could be obtained by appropriate Yukawa couplings $Y_{\ell^\prime\ell}$ where $\ell^\prime, \ell = e, μ, τ$. Next, we assume that the Yukawa couplings are extremely democratic $|Y_{\ell^\prime\ell} |=1$. In this case, the model parameters of the scalar clockwork sector, such as the site number of a clockwork gear in a clockwork c…
We review the issues associated with the construction of neutrino flavor states. We then provide a consistent proof that the flavor states are approximately well-defined only if neutrinos are ultra-relativistic or the mass differences are negligible compared to energy. However, we show that weak interactions can be consistently described by only neutrino mass eigenstates. Meanwhile, the second quantization of neutrino flavor fields generally has no physical relevance as their masses are indefinite. Therefore, the flavor states are not physical quantum states and they should simply be interpret…
In the framework of quantum field theory, we examine what physical implications are included in the expectation values of the flavor neutrino charges at the time $x^0$ with respesct to the state $\ket{Ψ(x^0)}$, which is taken so as to coincide with the neutrino source state such as a charged pion at the time $x^0_I$ ($< x^0$).
As a possible approach to the neutrino oscillation on the basis of quantum field theory, the expectation values of the flavor-neutrino currents are investigated by employing the finite-time transition matrix in the interaction representation. Such expectation values give us in the simplest form a possible way of treating the neutrino oscillation without recourse to any one flavor-neutrino states. The present paper is devoted to presenting the formulation and the main structures of the relevant expectation values.
In analogy to the mixing pattern of the pseudoscalar mesons in QCD we discuss the mixing of massive neutrinos. Unlike the quarks flavor mixing angles the leptonic mixing angles are large, nearly maximal. The three massive neutrinos are nearly degenerate.
The accurate prediction of the neutrino beam produced in muon decays and the absence of opposite helicity contamination for a particular neutrino flavor make a future neutrino factory the ideal place to look for the lepton flavor violating (LFV) decays of the kind $μ^+\ra e^+\nuebar\numu$ and lepton number violating (LNV) processes like $μ^-\ra e^-\nue\numu$. Excellent sensitivities can be achieved using a detector capable of muon and/or electron identification with charge discrimination. This would allow to set experimental limits that improve current ones by more than two orders of magnitude…
Can we observe the solar eclipses in the neutrino light? In principle, this is possible by identifying the lunar matter effects on the flavor conversions of solar neutrinos when they traverse the Moon before reaching the detectors at the Earth. Unfortunately, we show that the lunar matter effects on the survival probability of solar $^8{\rm B}$ neutrinos are suppressed by an additional factor of $1.2\%$, compared to the day-night asymmetry. However, we point out that the matter effects on the flavor conversions of high-energy astrophysical neutrinos, when they propagate through the Sun, can be…
In the context of quantum field theory, we derive flavor energy uncertainty relations for neutrino oscillations. By identifying the non conserved flavor charges with the clock observables, we arrive at the Mandelstam Tamm version of time energy uncertainty relations. In the ultrarelativistic limit these relations yield the well known condition for neutrino oscillations. Ensuing non relativistic corrections to the latter are explicitly evaluated. The analogy among flavor states and unstable particles and a novel interpretation of our uncertainty relations, based on the unitary inequivalence of …
Neutrino oscillation experiments suggest existence of new flavor-violating interactions in high energy scale. It may be possible to probe them by the flavor- and CP-violating processes in leptons and hadrons in the supersymmetric (SUSY) models. In this article the third-generation flavor violation is reviewed in the SUSY seesaw model and SUSY SU(5) GUT with the right-handed neutrinos.
Using moment equations we analyze collective flavor transformation of supernova neutrinos. We study the convergence of moment equations and find that numerical results using a few moment converge quite fast. We study effects of emission angle distribution of neutrinos on neutrino sphere. We study scaling law of the amplitude of neutrino self-interaction Hamiltonian and find that it depends on model of emission angle distribution of neutrinos. Dependence of neutrino oscillation on different models of emission angle distribution is studied.
In the two zero flavor neutrino mass matrix scheme with nonvanishing Majorana effective mass $M_{ee}$ for the neutrino less double beta decay, four textures are compatible with observed data. We obtain the complete list of the possible textures of four zero Dirac neutrino mass matrix $m_D$ in the seesaw mechanism providing these four flavor neutrino textures. Explicit analytical analysis of $m_D$ turns out to provide the relation of $m_D \propto \sqrt{M_{ee}}$.
We analyze neutrino oscillation for the general case when the initial neutrino is not in a pure flavor state. We show that, after such a neutrino beam propagates for a while, the probability of detecting any pure flavor state depends even on the CP-violating Majorana phases in the mixing matrix. The dependence remains even when energy spectrum of the initial beam is taken into account. We discuss various implications of this dependence.
We consider the matter effects on four flavor neutrino oscillation scheme (3+1). In presence of sterile neutrino, the simplest four flavor neutrino mixing there are six mixing angles and three Dirac CP phases. In this paper, we discuss about the sensitivity of mass square difference effects Delta21, Delta31, and Delta41 in the matter. We find that in presence of sterile neutrino for four flavor mixing framework, only solar mass square difference Delta21 and atmospheric neutrino mass square difference Delta31 change for different values of Dirac phases and energy. There is no change of sterile …
We investigate whether flavor changing neutrino interactions (FCNIs) can be sufficiently large to provide a viable solution to the atmospheric neutrino problem. Effective operators induced by heavy boson exchange that allow for flavor changing neutrino scattering off quarks or electrons are related by an $SU(2)_L$ rotation to operators that induce anomalous tau decays. Since $SU(2)_L$ violation is small for New Physics at or above the weak scale, one can use the upper bounds on lepton flavor violating tau decays or on lepton universality violation to put severe, model-independent bounds on the…
My talk is concentrating on the quantum effects on neutrino mass and lepton flavor mixing matrices in the framework of the minimal supersymmetric standard model with the effective dimension-five operator which gives the Majorana masses of neutrinos.
The theoretical basics of neutrino mass and mixing are reviewed. Dirac and Majorana masses are explained, and added together to produce the see-saw picture of the lightness of neutrinos. This picture predicts that neutrinos are Majorana particles. The character, and an apparent paradox, of Majorana neutrinos are examined. The physics of neutrino flavor change (oscillation), in vacuo and in matter, is reviewed.
We consider neutrino mixing and oscillations in presence of an arbitrary constant magnetic field with nonzero transversal $B_{\perp}$ and longitudinal $B_{\parallel}$ components with respect to the direction of neutrino propagation. The electromagnetic interaction of neutrinos is determined by diagonal and transition neutrino magnetic moments that are introduced for the neutrino mass states. Explicit expressions for the effective neutrino diagonal and transition magnetic moments for the flavor basis in terms of these values for the mass states are obtained. The effective evolution Hamiltonian …
Phenomenological implications of neutrino oscillations implied by recent experimental data on pattern of neutrino mass matrix are disscussed. It is shown that it is possible to have a neutrino mass matrix which shows approximate flavor symmetry; the neutrino mass differences arise from flavor violation in off-diagonal Yukawa couplings. Two modest extensions of the standard model, which can embed the resulting neutrino mass matix have also been discussed.
The phenomenology of flavor mixing of heavy Majorana neutrinos is studied. The physical degrees of freedom, which propagate like free particles until they decay in the presence of flavor mixing, are identified by diagonalizing the resummed propagator. It is shown that they should be interpreted as quasiparticles which lose Majorana nature.
We examine relation between neutrino oscillation parameters and prediction of lepton flavor violation, in light of deviations from tri-bimaximal mixing. Our study shows that upcoming experimental searches for lepton flavor violation process can provide useful implications for neutrino mass spectrum and mixing angles. With simple structure of heavy right-handed neutrino and supersymmetry breaking sectors, the discovery of tau \to mu gamma decay determines neutrino mass hierarchy if large (order 0.1) reactor angle is established.
Neutrino Flavor Evolution in High Flux Astrophysical Environments
Los Alamos National Laboratory（洛斯阿拉莫斯国家实验室）；University of Trento（特伦托大学）；INFN-TIFPA Trento Institute of Fundamental Physics and Applications（INFN-TIFPA 特伦托基础物理与应用研究所）
