Neutrino Physics: Status and Prospects

Abstract

This pedagogical overview will cover the current status of neutrino physics from an experimentalist's point of view, focusing primarily on oscillation studies. The evidence for neutrino oscillations will be presented, along with the prospects for further refinement of observations in each of the indicated regions of two-flavor oscillation parameter space. The next steps in oscillation physics will then be covered (under the assumption of three-flavor mixing): the quest for $\theta_{13}$, mass hierarchy and, eventually, leptonic CP violation. Prospects for non-oscillation aspects of neutrino physics, such as kinematic tests for absolute neutrino mass and double beta decay searches, will also be discussed briefly.