Apparent Superluminal Muon-neutrino Velocity as a Manifestation of Weak Value

TL;DR

This paper interprets the superluminal muon-neutrino velocity observed in the OPERA experiment as a weak value in quantum physics, explaining it as a statistical measurement that does not violate causality.

Contribution

It introduces a novel interpretation of neutrino velocity as a weak value, connecting quantum measurement theory with experimental neutrino physics.

Findings

Weak velocity can exceed the speed of light without violating causality.

The OPERA experiment setup can be viewed as a weak measurement scheme.

A model incorporating neutrino oscillation to calculate weak velocity is proposed.

Abstract

The result of the OPERA experiment revealed that the velocity of muon-neutrinos was larger than the speed of light. We argue that this apparent superluminal velocity can be interpreted as a weak value, which is a new concept recently studied in the context of quantum physics. The OPERA experiment setup forms a scheme that manifests the neutrino velocity as a weak value. The velocity defined in the scheme of weak measurement can exceed the speed of light. The weak velocity is not a concept associated to a single phenomenon but it is a statistical concept defined by accumulating data at separated places and by comparing the data. Neither information nor physical influence is conveyed at the weak velocity. Thus the superluminal velocity in the sense of weak value does not contradict the causality law. We propose also a model for calculating the neutrino velocity with taking neutrino oscillation into account.