Atmospheric Neutrinos: Past, Present and

TL;DR

This paper reviews the history of the atmospheric neutrino anomaly, arguing that the evidence does not support claims of neutrino mass and highlighting consistent muon deficiency across experiments.

Contribution

It clarifies the historical interpretation of atmospheric neutrino data and questions the link to neutrino mass based on existing experimental results.

Findings

Most experiments report energy-independent muon deficiency.

Super Kamioka results show time-dependent variations.

Historical data do not support neutrino mass claims.

Abstract

This paper reviews the history of the atmospheric neutrino anomaly. The historical record does not support more recent claims that the anomaly constitutes evidence for a neutrino mass. Most experiments have reported an apparent muon deficiency which is independent of energy and distance. Time dependent variations in the Super Kamioka results are noted.