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Measuring the deviation of the 2-3 lepton mixing from maximal with atmospheric neutrinos
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The measurement of the deviation of the 2-3 leptonic mixing from maximal, D_23 = 1/2 - sin^2(theta_23), is one of the key issues for understanding the origin of the neutrino masses and mixing. In the three-neutrino context we study the dependence of various observables in the atmospheric neutrinos on D_23. We perform a global three-neutrino analysis of the atmospheric and reactor neutrino data taking into account the effects of both the oscillations driven by the "solar" parameters (Delta_m_21^2 and theta_12) and the 1-3 mixing. The departure from the one-dominant mass scale approximation results into the shift of the 2-3 mixing from maximal by Delta_sin^2(theta_23) ~ 0.04, so that D_23 ~ 0.04 +- 0.07 (1 sigma). Though value of the shift is not statistically significant, the tendency is robust. The shift is induced by the excess of the e-like events in the sub-GeV sample. We show that future large scale water Cherenkov detectors can determine D_23 with accuracy of a few percent, comparable with the sensitivity of future long baseline experiments. Moreover, the atmospheric neutrinos will provide unique information on the sign of the deviation (octant of theta_23).
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GONZÁLEZ GARCÍA, Ma. Concepción, MALTONI, Michele and SMIRNOV, Alexei Yu. Measuring the deviation of the 2-3 lepton mixing from maximal with atmospheric neutrinos. Physical Review D. 2004. Vol. 70, num. 9, pags. 093005-1-093005-10. ISSN 0556-2821. [consulted: 19 of August of 2026]. Available at: https://hdl.handle.net/2445/12518