The T2K Indication of Relatively Large theta_13 and a Natural Perturbation to the Democratic Neutrino Mixing Pattern

The T2K Collaboration has recently reported a remarkable indication of the \nu_\mu -> \nu_e oscillation which is consistent with a relatively large value of \theta_{13} in the three-flavor neutrino mixing scheme. We show that it is possible to account for such a result of \theta_{13} by introducing a natural perturbation to the democratic neutrino mixing pattern, without or with CP violation. A testable correlation between \theta_{13} and \theta_{23} is predicted in this ansatz. We also discuss the Wolfenstein-like parametrization of neutrino mixing, and comment on other possibilities of generating sufficiently large \theta_{13} at the electroweak scale.Comment: RevTeX 8 page

On the Parametrization of Flavor Mixing in the Standard Model

It is shown that there exist nine different ways to describe the flavor mixing, in terms of three rotation angles and one CP-violating phase, within the standard electroweak theory of six quarks. For the assignment of the complex phase there essentially exists a continuum of possibilities, if one allows the phase to appear in more than four elements of the mixing matrix. If the phase is restricted to four elements, the phase assignment is uniquely defined. If one imposes the constraint that the phase disappears in a natural way in the chiral limit in which the masses of the u and d quarks are turned off, only three of the nine parametrizations are acceptable. In particular the ``standard'' parametrization advocated by the Particle Data Group is not permitted. One parametrization, in which the CP-violating phase is restricted to the light quark sector, stands up as the most favorable description of the flavor mixing.Comment: Latex 8 page

The Glashow resonance as a discriminator of UHE cosmic neutrinos originating from p-gamma and p-p collisions

We re-examine the interesting possibility of utilizing the Glashow resonance (GR) channel nu_ebar + e^- to W^- to anything to discriminate between the UHE cosmic neutrinos originating from p-gamma and pp collisions in an optically thin source of cosmic rays. We propose a general parametrization of the initial neutrino flavor composition by allowing the ratios Phi^{p gamma}_{pi^-}/Phi^{p gamma}_{pi^+} and Phi^{pp}_{pi^-}/Phi^{pp}_{pi^+} to slightly deviate from their conventional values. A relationship between the typical source parameter kappa = (Phi^{p gamma}_{pi^+} + Phi^{p gamma}_{pi^-})/(Phi^{pp}_{pi^+} + Phi^{pp}_{pi^-} + Phi^{p gamma}_{pi^+} + Phi^{p gamma}_{pi^-}) and the working observable of the GR R_0 = Phi^T_{nu_ebar}/ (Phi^T_{nu_mu} + Phi^T_{nu_mu}) at a neutrino telescope is derived, and the numerical dependence of R_0 on kappa is illustrated by taking account of the latest experimental data on three neutrino mixing angles. It is shown that a measurement of R_0 is in principle possible to identify the pure p-gamma interaction (kappa =1), the pure pp interaction (kappa =0) or a mixture of both of them (0 < kappa < 1) at a given source of UHE cosmic neutrinos. The event rate of the GR signal against the background is also estimated.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures, final version to appear in Phys. Rev.

Can the Lepton Flavor Mixing Matrix Be Symmetric?

Current neutrino oscillation data indicate that the 3x3 lepton flavor mixing matrix V is likely to be symmetric about its V_{e3}-V_{\mu 2}-V_{\tau 1} axis. This off-diagonal symmetry corresponds to three pairs of {\it congruent} unitarity triangles in the complex plane. Terrestrial matter effects can substantially modify the genuine CP-violating parameter and off-diagonal asymmetries of V in realistic long-baseline experiments of neutrino oscillations.Comment: RexTex 14 pages (4 PS figures). More discussions adde

More Straightforward Extraction of the Fundamental Lepton Mixing Parameters from Long-Baseline Neutrino Oscillations

We point out the simple reversibility between the fundamental neutrino mixing parameters in vacuum and their effective counterparts in matter. The former can therefore be expressed in terms of the latter, allowing more straightforward extraction of the genuine lepton mixing quantities from a variety of long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments. In addition to the parametrization-independent results, we present the formulas based on the standard parametrization of the lepton flavor mixing matrix and give a typical numerical illustration.Comment: RevTex 10 pages. Minor changes. Phys. Rev. D in printin

Rescattering effects in B_{u,d,s}(bar) to D P, D(bar) P decays

We study quasi-elastic rescattering effects in B_{u,d,s}(bar) to DP, D(bar)P decays, where P is a light pseudoscalar. The updated measurements of B_{u,d}(bar) to DP decays are used to extract the effective Wilson coefficients a^{eff}_1 ~ 0.90, a^{eff}_2 ~ 0.23, three strong phases delta ~ 53 degree, theta ~ 18 degree, sigma ~ -88 degree, and the mixing angle tau ~ 9 degree. This information is used to predict rates of nineteen B_{s}(bar) to DP and B_{u,d,s}(bar) to D(bar)P decay modes, including modes of interests in the gamma/phi_3 program. Many decay rates are found to be enhanced. In particular, the B_s(bar) to D0 K0 rate is predicted to be 8\times 10^{-4}, which could be measured soon. The rescattering effects on the corresponding B_{u,d,s}(bar) to D(bar)P, DP amplitude ratios r_B, r_{B_s}, and the relative strong phases delta_B, delta_{B_s} are studied. Although the decay rates are enhanced in most cases, r_{B,B_s} values are similar to factorization expectation.Comment: 16 page

Annihilation Type Radiative Decays of BB Meson in Perturbative QCD Approach

With the perturbative QCD approach based on $k_T$ factorization, we study the pure annihilation type radiative decays $B^0 \to \phi\gamma$ and $B^0\to J/\psi \gamma$. We find that the branching ratio of $B^0 \to \phi\gamma$ is $(2.7^{+0.3+1.2}_{-0.6-0.6})\times10^{-11}$, which is too small to be measured in the current $B$ factories of BaBar and Belle. The branching ratio of $B^0\to J/\psi \gamma$ is $({4.5^{+0.6+0.7}_{-0.5-0.6}})\times10^{-7}$, which is just at the corner of being observable in the $B$ factories. A larger branching ratio $BR(B_s^0 \to J/\psi \gamma) \simeq 5 \times 10^{-6}$ is also predicted. These decay modes will help us testing the standard model and searching for new physics signals.Comment: 4 pages, revtex, with 1 eps figur