Neutrino Oscillations and Mass: A Comprehensive Review

In summary, the conversation discusses the topic of neutrino mass and suggests various resources for finding research papers on the subject. A recommended paper is "Neutrino mass, mixing and flavor change" from the Particle Data Group, which may be understandable to a senior undergraduate with a background in quantum mechanics. Other suggested resources include the MINOS experiment, the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory, and the SuperKamiokande and KamLAND experiments. The conversation also mentions a paper on the transformation probability for neutrinos to change to a different flavor, and a question about the meaning of "fiducial volume". Finally, the conversation briefly mentions the elimination of non-oscillation models in 2004 and asks if a paper was submitted and available online
  • #1
JamesJames
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I am in my senior year of undergrad studies and would like to read a research paper on the NEUTRINO MASS. I am hoping for it to be at a level which I can understand. I am taking particle physics right now. Are there any sites that would offer such documents?

James
 
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  • #2
  • #3
It does not seem to offer any research.
 
  • #4
Heres a good reference paper
hep-ph/0202058
 
  • #5
Try the Particle Data Group

http://pdg.lbl.gov/

Follow the link to "Reviews, Tables and Plots" and you'll get a list of review-type articles on various topics. In the "Particle Properties" section there are a half-dozen papers listed under "Neutrinos", including one on "Neutrino mass, mixing and flavor change" which looks promising. I'm downloading it right now. This is a "review" article, not a "research" article, but it will have a list of references to original research articles at the end.
 
  • #6
IS the SUPERKamiokande paper available somewhere online? IS it readable by a senior UNDERgraduate? 4th year undergrad?
 
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  • #7
I have the super K paper somewhere, but I doubt you'll be able to read it. Theres a lot of jargon and sophisticated error analysis inside, as well as a lot of technical experimental details.

The problem with giving a neutrino mass paper to an undergrad is that to really understand what's going on requires understanding of the full fledged electroweak model.

Having said that, you will be able to understand a few things, assuming you have quantum mechanics. The seesaw mechanism is pretty straightforward, as well as how a neutrino wavefunction can oscillate between different states. Other things get a bit challenging, like the MSW effect in the sun, but could in principle be understood.

Do read that paper I linked,
http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/hep-ph/pdf/0202/0202058.pdf

especially starting from p12. The stuff before is really fundamental, but you need QFT to be familiar with the equations.
 
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  • #8
Maybe this link can bring you to some papers:

Quote: "MINOS ready to study mysterious neutrinos

A new five year research programme studying the properties of
mysterious particles called neutrinos is due to start on March 4th 2005.
The first neutrinos generated in a new particle accelerator beam for the
Main Injector Neutrino Oscillation Search (MINOS) were observed during
commissioning work last week at the Fermi National Accelerator
Laboratory, Fermilab, near Chicago in the USA. These neutrinos will be
sent on a 735 km journey through the Earth to a 5,500 ton detector
located in a historic iron mine near the Canadian border. This heralds
the successful completion of four years of construction and marks the
final stage of preparation for the experimental programme for UK
physicists, who are working with scientists from the USA, Russia,
Greece, France and Brazil."

"Recent experiments such as SNO (the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory, Canada, involving UK scientists) and Super Kamiokande in Japan, have studied neutrinos from the sun and from cosmic rays striking the Earth and demonstrated that they are capable of transforming (oscillating) from one type to another as they fly through space. This property is of great interest to scientists and also requires that one or more of the neutrinos,
previously thought to be mass-less, do have a small mass."

http://www-numi.fnal.gov/PublicInfo/index.html
http://www-numi.fnal.gov/collab/institut.html
Images: http://www.pparc.ac.uk/Nw/minos_images.asp
 
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  • #9
JamesJames said:
IS the SUPERKamiokande paper available somewhere online? IS it readable by a senior UNDERgraduate? 4th year undergrad?
The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory independently concluded that neutrinos have rest mass: The main paper is located here:
http://xxx.lanl.gov/PS_cache/nucl-ex/pdf/0204/0204009.pdf

Other related papers are here:
http://www.sno.phy.queensu.ca/sno/publications.html

AM
 
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  • #10
Where can I find a derivation of the transformation probability for neutrinos to change to a neutrino of another flavor? It contains a sin^2 (theta) term and is proportional to L/E.

James
 
  • #11
JamesJames said:
Where can I find a derivation of the transformation probability for neutrinos to change to a neutrino of another flavor? It contains a sin^2 (theta) term and is proportional to L/E.

James
Ask and you shall receive:

http://www.ps.uci.edu/%7Esuperk/oscmath1.html

Creator :biggrin:
 
  • #12
Thanks, that is very useful..I understand it.
 
  • #13
What is the meaning of fiducial volume? I have read this in several articles that I found..one being the K2K experiment description. Can someone explain this term.

James
 
  • #14
This is from a neutrino timeline:
2004 SuperKamiokande and KamLAND present evidence for neutrino disappearance and reappearance, eliminating non-oscillations models.

Was a paper submitted? Is is available on the web?

James
 

Related to Neutrino Oscillations and Mass: A Comprehensive Review

1. What is a neutrino?

A neutrino is a subatomic particle that is electrically neutral and interacts only through the weak nuclear force. It is one of the most abundant particles in the universe and is often described as "ghost-like" due to its elusive nature.

2. Why is the mass of neutrinos important?

The mass of neutrinos is important because it helps us understand the fundamental properties of matter and the universe. It also has significant implications for cosmology, astrophysics, and particle physics.

3. How do scientists measure the mass of neutrinos?

Scientists use a variety of methods to measure the mass of neutrinos, including studying their interactions in particle accelerators, observing their effects on cosmic rays, and analyzing data from neutrino experiments.

4. What is the current understanding of the mass of neutrinos?

The current understanding is that neutrinos have a small but non-zero mass. While the exact value is still being studied and debated, it is believed to be at least a million times smaller than the mass of an electron.

5. Why is there a range of possible values for the mass of neutrinos?

There is a range of possible values for the mass of neutrinos because it is a complex and elusive particle, making it difficult to measure accurately. Additionally, there are different types of neutrinos, each with its own mass, and their masses may also change as they move through space.

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