Neutrino physics
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, UCLA, Los Angeles, California 90095-1547 (United States)
These lectures describe some aspects of the physics of massive neutrinos. After a brief introduction of neutrinos in the Standard Model, I discuss possible patterns for their masses. In particular, I show how the presence of a large Majorana mass term for the right-handed neutrinos can engender tiny neutrino masses for the observed neutrinos. If neutrinos have mass, different flavors of neutrinos can oscillate into one another. To analyze this phenomena, I develop the relevant formalism for neutrino oscillations, both in vacuum and in matter. After reviewing the existing (negative) evidence for neutrino masses coming from direct searches, I discuss evidence for, and hints of, neutrino oscillations in the atmosphere, the sun, and at accelerators. Some of the theoretical implications of these results are emphasized. I close these lectures by briefly outlining future experiments which will shed further light on atmospheric, accelerator and solar neutrino oscillations. A pedagogical discussion of Dirac and Majorana masses is contained in an appendix.
- OSTI ID:
- 21210288
- Journal Information:
- AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 490, Issue 1; Conference: 8. Mexican school on particles and fields, Oaxaca de Juarez (Mexico), 20-28 Nov 1998; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.1301383; (c) 1999 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0094-243X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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