The Lepton Mixing Matrix, also known as the PMNS matrix, describes the relationship between the flavor and mass eigenstates of neutrinos, revealing how neutrinos oscillate between different types as they propagate. This matrix is crucial for understanding neutrino oscillations, a phenomenon that implies neutrinos have mass and that lepton flavors are not conserved.

Lepton Mixing Matrix

The PMNS Matrix, or Pontecorvo-Maki-Nakagawa-Sakata Matrix, is a fundamental component in the study of neutrino oscillations, describing the mixing between the three known neutrino flavors as they propagate through space. It is pivotal for understanding the phenomenon where neutrinos change their flavor, providing insights into the mass differences and mixing angles of neutrinos, which are central to particle physics and cosmology.

PMNS matrix

flavor and mass eigenstates of neutrinos

Neutrino oscillate

neutrinos oscillate

Neutrino oscillations are a quantum phenomenon where neutrinos change between different 'flavors' (electron, muon, and tau) as they travel through space, implying that they have mass. This discovery challenges the Standard Model of particle physics, which originally considered neutrinos to be massless.

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