Carlo Giunti

Phenomenology of neutrino oscillations

Abstract This review is focused on neutrino mixing and neutrino oscillations in the light of the recent experimental developments. After discussing possible types of neutrino mixing for Dirac and Majorana neutrinos and considering in detail the phenomenology of neutrino oscillations in vacuum and matter, we review all existing evidence and indications in favour of neutrino oscillations that have been obtained in the atmospheric, solar and LSND experiments. We present the results of the analyses of the neutrino oscillation data in the framework of mixing of three and four massive neutrinos and investigate possibilities to test the different neutrino mass and mixing schemes obtained in this way. We also discuss briefly future neutrino oscillation experiments.

Statistical significance of the gallium anomaly

We calculate the statistical significance of the anomalous deficit of electron neutrinos measured in the radioactive source experiments of the GALLEX and SAGE solar neutrino detectors, taking into account the uncertainty of the detection cross section. We found that the statistical significance of the anomaly is {approx}3.0{sigma}. A fit of the data in terms of neutrino oscillations favors at {approx}2.7{sigma} short-baseline electron neutrino disappearance with respect to the null hypothesis of no oscillations.

Running coupling constants and grand unification models

The evolution of the gauge coupling constants in the SU(N) and SO(N) grand unification models is examined. It is shown that the three coupling constants αs, α2, α1 in the minimal SU(5) model do not merge into one at 99% confidence level when they are extrapolated from the values at the mass scale MZ, whereas in its supersymmetric version, the coupling constants do merge into one within one standard deviation. In the SU(N) (with N > 5) models with a two-step symmetry breaking the coupling constants can merge into one, but these models are ruled out by the constraint imposed on the unification mass scale from the absence of proton decay. The SO(N) models with N ≥ 10 are shown to be consistent with the proton decay constraint. In particular, the unification scale for the SO(10) model is shown to be 1015~1016GeV and the intermediate energy scale is 1013~1014GeV.

Pragmatic view of short-baseline neutrino oscillations

We present the results of global analyses of short-baseline neutrino oscillation data in 3 + 1, 3 + 2 and 3 + 1 + 1 neutrino mixing schemes. We show that the data do not allow us to abandon the simplest 3 + 1 scheme in favor of the more complex 3 + 2 and 3 + 1 + 1 schemes. We present the allowed region in the 3 + 1 parameter space, which is located at Delta m(41)(2) between 0.82 and 2.19 eV(2) at 3 sigma. The case of no oscillations is disfavored by about 6 sigma, which decreases dramatically to about 2 sigma if the Liquid Scintillating Neutrino Detector (LSND) data are not considered. Hence, new high-precision experiments are needed to check the LSND signal.

Update of Short-Baseline Electron Neutrino and Antineutrino Disappearance

We present a complete update of the analysis of electron neutrino and antineutrino disappearance experiments in terms of neutrino oscillations in the framework of 3+1 neutrino mixing, taking into account the Gallium anomaly, the reactor anomaly, solar neutrino data and nu_e-C scattering data. We discuss the implications of a recent 71Ga(3He,3H)71Ge measurement which give information on the neutrino cross section in Gallium experiments. We discuss the solar bound on active-sterile mixing and present our numerical results. We discuss the connection between the results of the fit of neutrino oscillation data and the heavy neutrino mass effects in beta-decay experiments (considering new Mainz data) and neutrinoless double-beta decay experiments (considering the recent EXO results).

Light sterile neutrinos

The theory and phenomenology of light sterile neutrinos at the eV mass scale is reviewed. The reactor, Gallium and LSND anomalies are briefly described and interpreted as indications of the existence of short-baseline oscillations which require the existence of light sterile neutrinos. The global fits of short-baseline oscillation data in 3+1 and 3+2 schemes are discussed, together with the implications for beta-decay and neutrinoless double-beta decay. The cosmological effects of light sterile neutrinos are briefly reviewed and the implications of existing cosmological data are discussed. The review concludes with a summary of future perspectives.

3+1 and 3+2 Sterile Neutrino Fits

We present the results of fits of short-baseline neutrino-oscillation data in 3+1 and 3+2 neutrino-mixing schemes. In spite of the presence of a tension in the interpretation of the data, 3+1 neutrino mixing is attractive for its simplicity and for the natural correspondence of one new entity (a sterile neutrino) with a new effect (short-baseline oscillations). The allowed regions in the oscillation parameter space can be tested in near-future experiments. In the framework of 3+2 neutrino mixing, there is less tension in the interpretation of the data, at the price of introducing a second sterile neutrino. Moreover, the improvement of the parameter goodness of fit is mainly a statistical effect due to an increase in the number of parameters. The CP violation in short-baseline experiments allowed in 3+2 neutrino mixing can explain the positive {nu}{sub {mu}{yields}{nu}e} signal and the negative {nu}{sub {mu}{yields}{nu}e} measurement in the MiniBooNE experiment. For the CP-violating phase, we obtained two minima of the marginal {chi}{sup 2} close to the two values where CP violation is maximal.

NEUTRINOLESS DOUBLE-BETA DECAY: A BRIEF REVIEW

In this brief review we discuss the generation of Majorana neutrino masses through the seesaw mechanism, the theory of neutrinoless double-beta decay, the implications of neutrino oscillation data for the effective Majorana mass, taking into account the recent Daya Bay measurement of ϑ13, and the interpretation of the results of neutrinoless double-beta decay experiments.

Treatment of neutrino oscillations without resort to weak eigenstates

We discuss neutrino oscillations in the framework of the quantum field theory without introducing the concept of neutrino weak eigenstates. The external particles are described by wave packets and the different mass eigenstate neutrinos propagate between the production and detection interactions, which are macroscopically localized in space-time. The time-averaged cross section, which is the measurable quantity in the usual experimental setting, is calculated. It is shown that only in the extremely relativistic limit can the usual quantum mechanical oscillation probability be factored out of the cross section.

Neutrino electromagnetic properties

The main goal of the paper is to give a short review on neutrino electromagnetic properties. In the introductory part of the paper a summary on what we really know about neutrinos is given: we discuss the basics of neutrino mass and mixing as well as the phenomenology of neutrino oscillations. This is important for the following discussion on neutrino electromagnetic properties that starts with a derivation of the neutrino electromagnetic vertex function in the most general form, that follows from the requirement of Lorentz invariance, for both the Dirac and Majorana cases. Then, the problem of the neutrino form factor definition and calculation within gauge models is considered. In particular, we discuss the neutrino electric charge form factor and charge radius, dipole magnetic and electric and anapole form factors. Available experimental constraints on neutrino electromagnetic properties are also discussed, and the recently obtained experimental limits on neutrino magnetic moments are reviewed. The most important neutrino electromagnetic processes involving a direct neutrino coupling with photons (such as neutrino radiative decay, neutrino Cherenkov radiation, spin light of neutrino and plasmon decay into neutrino-antineutrino pair in media) and neutrino resonant spin-flavor precession in a magnetic field are discussed at the end of the paper.