Neutrino oscillations and the effect of the finite lifetime of the neutrino source

Abstract

We consider a neutrino source at rest and discuss a condition for the existence of neutrino oscillations which derives from the finite lifetime ${\tau }_S$ of the neutrino source particle. This condition is present if the neutrino source is a free particle such that its wave function is non-stationary. For a Gaussian wave function and with some simplifying assumptions, we study the modification of the usual oscillation probability stemming from ${\tau }_S$. In the present accelerator experiments the effect of ${\tau }_S$ can be neglected. We discuss some experimental situations where the source lifetime becomes relevant in the oscillation formula.

Comments: 13 pages latex file with 2 figures