Neutrino telescopes as a probe of active and sterile neutrino mixings

Abstract

If the ultrahigh-energy (UHE) neutrino fluxes produced from a distant astrophysical source can be measured at a km^3-size neutrino telescope, they will provide a promising way to help determine the flavor mixing pattern of three active neutrinos. Considering the conventional UHE neutrino source with the flavor ratio \phi_e : \phi_\mu : \phi_\tau = 1 : 2 : 0, I show that \phi^D_e : \phi^D_\mu : \phi^D_\tau = (1 -2 \Delta) : (1 +\Delta) : (1 +\Delta) holds at the detector of a neutrino telescope, where \Delta characterizes the effect of \mu-\tau symmetry breaking (i.e., \theta_13 \neq 0 and \theta_23 \neq \pi/4). Current experimental data yield -0.1 \leq \Delta \leq +0.1. It is also possible to probe \Delta by detecting the \bar{\nu}_e flux of E_\bar{\nu}_e \approx 6.3 PeV via the Glashow resonance channel \bar{\nu}_e e \to W^- \to anything. Finally, I give some brief comments on the possibility to constrain the mixing between active and sterile neutrinos by using the UHE neutrino telescopes.