Quantum Dissipative Effects and Neutrinos : current constraints and future perspectives

Abstract

We establish the most stringent experimental constraints coming from recent terrestrial neutrino experiments on quantum mechanical decoherence effects in neutrino systems. Taking a completely phenomenological approach, we probe vacuum oscillations plus quantum decoherence between two neutrino species in the channels ${\nu }_{\mu }\to {\nu }_{\tau }$, ${\nu }_{\mu }\to {\nu }_e$ and ${\nu }_e\to {\nu }_{\tau }$, admitting that the quantum decoherence parameter $\gamma$ is related to the neutrino energy $E_{\nu }$ as : $\gamma ={\gamma }_0(E_{\nu }/\text{GeV}{)}^n$, with $n=-1,0,1$ and 2. Our bounds are valid for a neutrino mass squared difference compatible with the atmospheric, the solar and, in many cases, the LSND scale. We also qualitatively discuss the perspectives of the future long baseline neutrino experiments to further probe quantum dissipation.

Comments: 26 pages, 8 encapsulated postscript figures