Mixed state geometric phase for neutrino oscillations

TL;DR

This paper derives explicit formulas for the mixed state geometric phase in neutrino oscillations, providing insights into quantum coherence and offering a geometric perspective on neutrino behavior.

Contribution

It introduces explicit expressions for the mixed state geometric phase in two and three flavor neutrino oscillations, highlighting its independence from Majorana phases in the two-flavor case.

Findings

Geometric phase expressions derived for two and three flavor oscillations

In two-flavor case, phase is independent of Majorana phase

Geometric phase can serve as a measure of neutrino beam coherence

Abstract

The geometric picture of neutrino oscillations offers a unique way to study the quantum mechanics of this phenomenon. In this picture, the propagation of a neutrino beam is described by a density matrix evolving in a state space with non-trivial geometry. We derive explicit expressions of the mixed state geometric phase which arise during such an evolution for both two and three flavor neutrino oscillations. We show that, in the case of two flavor neutrino oscillations, the geometric phase is independent of the Majorana phase and it can be used as a measure of coherence of the neutrino beam.