What can we learn from high precision measurements of neutrino mixing angles?

R N MOHAPATRA

Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA

E-mail: rmohapat@physics.umd.edu

Abstract. Many experiments are being planned to measure the neutrino mixing angles more precisely. In this note, the theoretical significance of a high precision measurement of these parameters is discussed. It is emphasized that they can provide crucial information about different ways to understand the origin of large atmospheric neutrino mixing and move us closer towards determining the neutrino mass matrix. They may also be able to throw light on the question of lepton--quark unification as well as the existence of any leptonic symmetries. For instance if exact m « i symmetry in the neutrino mass matrix is assumed to be the reason for maximal n_m-n_i mixing, one gets q₁₃ = 0 and $\theta_{13} \simeq \sqrt{\Delta m_{\dotcircle}^2/\Delta_A^2}$ or $\theta_{13} \simeq \Delta m_{\dotcircle}^2/\Delta_A^2$ can provide information about the way the m « i symmetry breaking manifests in the case of normal hierarchy.

Keywords. q_{13; m-i} symmetry.

PACS Nos 14.60.Pq; 12.60.-i