Neutrino flavor oscillations without flavor states

TL;DR

This paper presents a particle detector model for neutrino oscillations that derives standard results without relying on flavor states, clarifying the measurement process in quantum field theory.

Contribution

It introduces a fermionic particle detector framework that naturally describes neutrino emission and absorption without flavor states, addressing foundational issues.

Findings

Recovers standard neutrino oscillation results without flavor states

Highlights the role of particle detector models in quantum field theory measurement

Clarifies the conceptual basis of neutrino phenomenology

Abstract

We analyze the problem of neutrino oscillations via a fermionic particle detector model inspired by the physics of the Fermi theory of weak interactions. The model naturally leads to a description of emission and absorption of neutrinos in terms of localized two-level systems. By explicitly including source and detector as part of the dynamics, the formalism is shown to recover the standard results for neutrino oscillations without mention to "flavor states", which are ill defined in quantum field theory. This illustrates how particle detector models provide a powerful theoretical tool to approach the measurement issue in quantum field theory and emphasizes that the notion of flavor states, although sometimes useful, must not play any crucial role in neutrino phenomenology.