Neutrino Oscillation Measurements Computed in Quantum Field Theory

Abstract

We perform a calculation in quantum field theory of neutrino oscillation probabilities, where we include simultaneously the source, detector, and neutrino fields in the Hamiltonian. Within the appropriate limits associated with current neutrino oscillation experiments, we recover the standard oscillation formula. On the other hand, we find that the dominant contributions to the amplitude are associated with different neutrino mass eigenstates being emitted at different times, such that they arrive at the detector at the same time. This is contrary to the neutrino wave packet picture, where they are emitted simultaneously and separate as they travel to the detector. This has direct consequences regarding the mechanisms that lead to a damping of neutrino oscillations for very long baselines. Our analysis also provides a pedagogical example of a measurement process in quantum mechanics.

12+12 pages, 3 figures; v2: improved appendix B, added refs, close to published version

References in corpus (3)

• Updated fit to three neutrino mixing: exploring the accelerator-reactor complementarity
• Oscillations of Mossbauer neutrinos
• Dynamical Pion Collapse and the Coherence of Conventional Neutrino Beams

Cited by in corpus (13)

• Consistent QFT description of non-standard neutrino interactions
• Neutrino flavor oscillations without flavor states
• Signature of neutrino mass hierarchy in gravitational lensing
• Revisiting the quantum field theory of neutrino oscillations in vacuum
• Beyond the MSW effect: Neutrinos in a dense medium
• DUNE potential as a New Physics probe
• Interacting kinks and meson mixing
• Approximate Neutrino Oscillations in the Vacuum
• Where Neutrino Decoherence Lies
• Virtual neutrino propagation at short baselines
• Neutrino oscillations in a trapping potential
• Entangled Neutrino States in a Toy Model QFT
• Measuring Entangled Neutrino States in a Toy Model QFT