Precise Formulation of Neutrino Oscillation in the Earth

TL;DR

This paper develops a perturbation theory for neutrino oscillation in the Earth, valid for energies above 0.5 GeV, incorporating non-adiabatic effects and simplifying matter effect analysis.

Contribution

It introduces a trajectory-dependent perturbation theory that accurately describes neutrino oscillations in Earth, including non-standard matter effects.

Findings

Perturbation theory accurately models neutrino oscillations in Earth.

Simplifies analysis of Earth matter effects on neutrino conversion.

Valid for neutrino energies above 0.5 GeV.

Abstract

We give a perturbation theory of neutrino oscillation in the Earth. The perturbation theory is valid for neutrinos with energy $E \gsim 0.5$ GeV. It is formulated using trajectory dependent average potential. Non-adiabatic contributions are included as the first order effects in the perturbation theory. We analyze neutrino oscillation with standard matter effect and with non-standard matter effect. In a three flavor analysis we show that the perturbation theory gives a precise description of neutrino conversion in the Earth. Effect of the Earth matter is substantially simplified in this formulation.