Neutrino oscillations in a model with a source and detector

Abstract

We study the oscillations of neutrinos in a model in which the neutrino is coupled to a localized, idealized source and detector. By varying the spatial and temporal resolution of the source and detector we are able to model the full range of source and detector types ranging from coherent to incoherent. We find that this approach is useful in understanding the interface between the Quantum Mechanical nature of neutrino oscillations on the one hand and the production and detection systems on the other hand. This method can easily be extended to study the oscillations of other particles such as the neutral K and B mesons. We find that this approach gives a reliable way to treat the various ambiguities which arise when one examines the oscillations from a wave packet point of view. We demonstrate that the conventional oscillation formula is correct in the relativistic limit and that several recent claims of an extra factor of 2 in the oscillation length are incorrect. We also demonstrate explicitly that the oscillations of neutrinos which have separated spatially may be "revived" by a long coherent measurement.