Flavor neutrinos as unstable particles: an interaction picture view

TL;DR

This paper explores the analogy between unstable particles and neutrino oscillations using quantum field theory, showing their mathematical similarity and deriving flavor oscillation formulas within the interaction picture.

Contribution

It demonstrates that neutrino flavor oscillations can be analyzed as unstable particle decays in the interaction picture, unifying two phenomena under a common theoretical framework.

Findings

Oscillation expressions match decay calculations in short-time range.

Derived flavor oscillation formula aligns with flavor Fock space results.

Shows the theoretical equivalence of neutrino oscillations and particle decays.

Abstract

This paper reviews the similarities in the behavior of unstable particles and oscillating neutrinos using perturbation theory within the interaction picture of quantum field theory. We begin by examining how decaying systems are studied in the interaction picture and then demonstrate how similar calculations can be performed to determine the transition probabilities for flavor oscillations. Notably, the expressions for neutrino oscillations and particle decays are identical in the short-time range. Furthermore, we show that the flavor oscillation formula derived through this method matches, within the adopted approximation, the one obtained using the flavor Fock space approach.