Neutrino masses: evidences and implications (original) (raw)
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Theory of Neutrino Masses and Mixings
International Journal of Modern Physics A, 2002
Neutrino physics is going through a revolutionary progress. In this talk I review what we have learned and why neutrino mass is so important. Neutrino masses and mixings are already shedding new insight into the origin of flavor. Given the evidences for neutrino mass, leptogenesis is gaining momentum as the origin of cosmic baryon asymmetry. Best of all, we will learn a lot more in the coming years.
Neutrino mass and mixing: from theory to experiment
New Journal of Physics, 2014
The origin of fermion mass hierarchies and mixings is one of the unresolved and most difficult problem in high-energy physics. One possibility to address the flavour problem is by extending the Standard Model to include a family symmetry. In the recent years it has become very popular to use non-Abelian discrete flavour symmetries because of their power in the prediction of the large leptonic mixing angles relevant for neutrino oscillation experiments. Here we give an introduction to the flavour problem and to discrete groups which have been used to attempt a solution for it. We review the current status of models in the light of the recent measurement of the reactor angle and we consider different model building directions taken. The use of the flavons or multi Higgs scalars in model building is discussed as well as the direct vs. indirect approaches. We also focus on the possibility to distinguish experimentally flavour symmetry models by means of mixing sum rules and mass sum rules. In fact, we illustrate in this review the complete path from mathematics, via model building, to experiments, so that any reader interested to start working in the field could use this text as a starting point in order to get a broad overview of the different subject areas.
Neutrino masses: From fantasy to facts
1999
Theory suggests the existence of neutrino masses, but little more. Facts are coming close to reveal our fantasy: solar and atmospheric neutrino data strongly indicate the need for neutrino conversions, while LSND provides an intriguing hint. The simplest ways to reconcile these data in terms of neutrino oscillations invoke a light sterile neutrino in addition to the three active ones. Out of the four neutrinos, two are maximally-mixed and lie at the LSND scale, while the others are at the solar mass scale. These schemes can be distinguished at neutral-current-sensitive solar & atmospheric neutrino experiments. I discuss the simplest theoretical scenarios, where the lightness of the sterile neutrino, the nearly maximal atmospheric neutrino mixing, and the generation of ∆m 2 ⊙ & ∆m 2 atm all follow naturally from the assumed lepton-number symmetry and its breaking. Although the most likely interpretation of the present data is in terms of neutrino-mass-induced oscillations, one still has room for alternative explanations, such as flavour changing neutrino interactions, with no need for neutrino mass or mixing. Such flavour violating transitions arise in theories with strictly massless neutrinos, and may lead to other sizeable flavour non-conservation effects, such as µ → e + γ, µ − e conversion in nuclei, unaccompanied by neutrinoless double beta decay.
Neutrino physics beyond neutrino masses
Fortschritte Der Physik-progress of Physics, 2010
We briefly summarise the current status of neutrino masses and mixing, paying special attention to the prospects for observing new leptonic interactions.
Annual Review of Nuclear and Particle Science, 2006
▪ We review the present state and future outlook of our understanding of neutrino masses and mixings. We discuss what we think are the most important perspectives on the plausible and natural scenarios for neutrinos and attempt to throw light onto the flavor problem of quarks and leptons. This review focuses on the see-saw mechanism, which fits into a big picture of particle physics such as supersymmetry and grand unification, providing a unified approach to the flavor problem of quarks and leptons. We argue that, in combination with family symmetries, this may be at the heart of a unified understanding of the flavor puzzle. We also discuss other new physics ideas, such as neutrinos in models with extra dimensions, and possible theoretical implications of sterile neutrinos. We outline some tests for the various schemes.
Status and implications of neutrino masses: A brief panorama
International Journal of Modern Physics a, 2015
With the historic discovery of the Higgs boson our picture of particle physics would have been complete were it not for the neutrino sector and cosmology. I briefly discuss the role of neutrino masses and mixing upon gauge coupling unification, electroweak breaking and the flavor sector. Time is ripe for new discoveries such as leptonic CP violation, charged lepton flavor violation and neutrinoless double beta decay. Neutrinos could also play a role in elucidating the nature of dark matter and cosmic inflation.
Schemes for Neutrino Mass and Mixing
1994
I briefly review various schemes of neutrino mass generation which are motivated by present experimental hints from solar and atmospheric neutrinos as well as cosmological data on the amplitude of primordial density fluctuations.
Neutrino masses and mixings and
Arxiv preprint hep-ph/0606054, 2006
We review experimental and theoretical results related to neutrino physics with emphasis on neutrino masses and mixings, and outline possible lines of development.
Modern Physics Letters A, 1999
We propose a novel theoretical understanding of neutrino masses and mixings, which is attributed to the left–right symmetric feature of the regularized standard model at short distances. We try to explain the smallness of Dirac neutrino masses and the decoupling of the right-handed neutrino as a free particle. Neutrino masses and mixing angles are completely related to each other in the Schwinger–Dyson equations for their self-energy functions. The solutions to these equations and a possible pattern of masses and mixings are discussed.