Neutrino Mass, Mixing, and Oscillation

Abstract

Do neutrinos have nonzero masses? If they do, then these masses are very tiny, and can be sought only in very sensitive experiments. The most sensitive of these search for neutrino oscillation, a quantum interference effect which requires neutrino mass and leptonic mixing. In these lectures, we explain what leptonic mixing is, and then develop the physics of neutrino oscillation, including the general formalism and its application to special cases of practical interest. We also see how neutrino oscillation is affected by the passage of the oscillating neutrinos through matter.