Decoherence effects in reactor and Gallium neutrino oscillation experiments: a QFT approach
Abstract We adopt the quantum field theoretical method to calculate the amplitude and event rate for a neutrino oscillation experiment, considering neutrino production, propagation and detection as a single process. This method allows to take into account decoherence effects in the transition amplit...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SpringerOpen
2023-07-01
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| Series: | European Physical Journal C: Particles and Fields |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-023-11711-8 |
| _version_ | 1797689072561422336 |
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| author | Raphael Krueger Thomas Schwetz |
| author_facet | Raphael Krueger Thomas Schwetz |
| author_sort | Raphael Krueger |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract We adopt the quantum field theoretical method to calculate the amplitude and event rate for a neutrino oscillation experiment, considering neutrino production, propagation and detection as a single process. This method allows to take into account decoherence effects in the transition amplitude induced by the quantum mechanical uncertainties of all particles involved in the process. We extend the method to include coherence loss due to interactions with the environment, similar to collisional line broadening. In addition to generic decoherence induced at the amplitude level, the formalism allows to include, in a straightforward way, additional damping effects related to phase-space integrals over momenta of unobserved particles as well as other classical averaging effects. We apply this method to neutrino oscillation searches at reactor and Gallium experiments and confirm that quantum decoherence is many orders of magnitudes smaller than classical averaging effects and therefore unobservable. The method used here can be applied with minimal modifications also to other types of oscillation experiments, e.g., accelerator based beam experiments. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T01:41:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cc21b64e53274667a3327b4a4f36696f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1434-6052 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T01:41:53Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | SpringerOpen |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Physical Journal C: Particles and Fields |
| spelling | doaj.art-cc21b64e53274667a3327b4a4f36696f2023-09-10T11:24:10ZengSpringerOpenEuropean Physical Journal C: Particles and Fields1434-60522023-07-0183711910.1140/epjc/s10052-023-11711-8Decoherence effects in reactor and Gallium neutrino oscillation experiments: a QFT approachRaphael Krueger0Thomas Schwetz1Institut für Astroteilchenphysik, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT)Institut für Astroteilchenphysik, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT)Abstract We adopt the quantum field theoretical method to calculate the amplitude and event rate for a neutrino oscillation experiment, considering neutrino production, propagation and detection as a single process. This method allows to take into account decoherence effects in the transition amplitude induced by the quantum mechanical uncertainties of all particles involved in the process. We extend the method to include coherence loss due to interactions with the environment, similar to collisional line broadening. In addition to generic decoherence induced at the amplitude level, the formalism allows to include, in a straightforward way, additional damping effects related to phase-space integrals over momenta of unobserved particles as well as other classical averaging effects. We apply this method to neutrino oscillation searches at reactor and Gallium experiments and confirm that quantum decoherence is many orders of magnitudes smaller than classical averaging effects and therefore unobservable. The method used here can be applied with minimal modifications also to other types of oscillation experiments, e.g., accelerator based beam experiments.https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-023-11711-8 |
| spellingShingle | Raphael Krueger Thomas Schwetz Decoherence effects in reactor and Gallium neutrino oscillation experiments: a QFT approach European Physical Journal C: Particles and Fields |
| title | Decoherence effects in reactor and Gallium neutrino oscillation experiments: a QFT approach |
| title_full | Decoherence effects in reactor and Gallium neutrino oscillation experiments: a QFT approach |
| title_fullStr | Decoherence effects in reactor and Gallium neutrino oscillation experiments: a QFT approach |
| title_full_unstemmed | Decoherence effects in reactor and Gallium neutrino oscillation experiments: a QFT approach |
| title_short | Decoherence effects in reactor and Gallium neutrino oscillation experiments: a QFT approach |
| title_sort | decoherence effects in reactor and gallium neutrino oscillation experiments a qft approach |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-023-11711-8 |
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