Unitarity of Lepton Sector

Zhi-zhong Xing (IHEP, Beijing)

0) Lessons from Quarks

1) Is the MNS Matrix Unitary or Nearly Unitary?
2) Unitarity Triangles in Vacuum and in Matter
3) A Sterile Neutrino and Unitarity Quadrangles
4) Concluding Remarks

ISS of a future Neutrino Factory and Superbeam Facility, KEK, 23 – 25, 2006
 Lessons from Quarks 2

Lesson 1
CKM quark
mixing:
θ12 → θ23 → θ13 → δ → new physics ?
Exp. steps:
～ 13° ～ 2° ～ 0.2° ～ 65° unitarity ?

MNS lepton mixing:

Exp. steps: θ23 → θ12 → θ13 → δ/ρ/σ new physics ?

～ 45° ～ 33° <10° ～???

unitarity ?
In the era of precision measurements, the test of unitarity is a big deal.
 Lessons from Quarks 3

Lesson 2 How to test unitarity of the CKM matrix?

1) Test the normalization conditions
2) Test the orthogonality conditions
3) Examine the new physics scenario Blucher et al, hep-ph/0512039

Similar strategies in the leptonic sector. (Precision Neutrino Experiments).

 Is the MNS Matrix Unitary? 4
In the SM, unitarity is the only constraint imposed on the CKM matrix.

But the origin of neutrino masses must be beyond the SM. In this case,
whether the MNS matrix is unitary or not relies on the model or theory.

The MNS matrix is NOT exactly unitary in the seesaw mechanism!

• Small particle content
• SU(2)_L  U(1)_Y
• Lepton number violating

Z.Z. Xing & S. Zhou,

hep-ph/0512290
 Is the MNS Matrix Unitary? 5

A preliminary upper bound on the elements of R is at the 0.1% level,

given by precise electroweak data [E. Nardi et al., PLB344, 225 (1995)]

Z.Z. Xing & S. Zhou,

hep-ph/0512290

The seesaw relation and the unitarity of V (or

U)

The accuracy is much better than

imagined!!

Conclusion: V is almost unitary

in all realistic seesaw models.
 Unitarity Triangles 6
H. Fritzsch & Z.Z. Xing, hep-ph/9912358, Prog. Part. Nucl. Phys. 45 (2000) 1
 Unitarity Triangles 7

Typical Example

Another interesting triangle: J. Sato, Nucl.

Instrum. Meth. A 472 (2000) 434; Y. Farzan, A.Yu.
Smirnov, Phys. Rev. D 65 (2002) 113001.
 Matter Effects 8

Effective Hamiltonians for neutrino propagations in vacuum & matter:

Constant earth profile

----a very good approximation for
most of the long baseline neutrino
experiments proposed at present.
 Matter Effects 9

3 linear equations
for 3 parameters: 1

Z.Z. Xing & H. Zhang,

Phys. Lett. B 618, 131
(2005)

3
Moduli & CP Violation 10
Modified Unitarity Triangles 11

Sides of 3 triangles in matter

Shape Evolution 12

Long-baseline:

Is CP violation
establishable
via a triangle’s
three sides of
comparable
magnitudes ?

H. Zhang & Z.Z.

Xing, Eur. Phys. J.
C 41, 143 (2005)

Neutrinos
Shape Evolution 13

Long-baseline:

Is CP violation
establishable
via a triangle’s
three sides of
comparable
magnitudes ?

H. Zhang & Z.Z.

Xing, Eur. Phys. J.
C 41, 143 (2005)

Antineutrinos
Shape Evolution 14

Long-baseline:

Is CP violation
establishable
via a triangle’s
three sides of
comparable
magnitudes ?

H. Zhang & Z.Z.

Xing, Eur. Phys. J.
C 41, 143 (2005)

Neutrinos
Shape Evolution 15

Long-baseline:

Is CP violation
establishable
via a triangle’s
three sides of
comparable
magnitudes ?

H. Zhang & Z.Z.

Xing, Eur. Phys. J.
C 41, 143 (2005)

Antineutrinos
 A Sterile Neutrino 16
A generic SU(2)_L  U(1)_Y model of electroweak interactions with 3
charged leptons, 3 active neutrinos and 1 sterile neutrino. LSND ???

The lepton flavor mixing matrix appearing in the charged-current weak

interactions is a 3 × 4 matrix. The 3 × 3 MNS matrix as a sub-matrix is
not unitary. [see, e.g., W.L. Guo & Z.Z. Xing, Phys. Rev. D 65, 073020 (2002)]

3×4 lepton flavor mixing matrix

3×3
M
N
S

A parametrization of the 4 × 4 unitary matrix needs 6 mixing angles &

6 CP-violating phases: the number of parameters is now doubled. The
unitarity violation of the 3 × 3 MNS matrix would point to new physics.
 Unitarity Quadrangles 17
The unitarity of the 4 × 4 matrix yields 12 unitarity quadrangles. Each
quadrangle has 3 distinct topologies in the complex plane. Totally 36 !

W.L. Guo & Z.Z. Xing, Phys. Rev. D 66, 097302 (2002)
 Concluding Remarks 18

 Testing the unitarity of lepton flavor mixing is an important task in

the era of precision measurements. A way to explore new physics.

 In realistic seesaw models, the 3 × 3 MNS matrix is almost unitary.

 First of all, it is desirable to measure the smallest mixing θ13

angle , so as to check the normalization condition in the first row
of V_MNS.
 Unitarity is so powerful that it can lead to many self-consistent and
testable results in vacuum and matter. Many jobs to do in a -factory.

 The existence of sterile neutrinos would violate the unitarity of the

3 × 3 MNS matrix (at a detectable level?) LSND vs MiniBOONE

 Explicit strategies to do numerical tests need to be considered,……

Thanks a lot ( 多谢 ) !