# A PHENOMENOLOGICAL OUTLOOK ON THREE-FLAVOR ATMOSPHERIC NEUTRINO OSCILLATIONS

## 1 Introduction

The recent atmospheric neutrino data from the Super-Kamiokande (SK) experiment  are in excellent agreement with the hypothesis of flavor oscillations generated by nonzero neutrino mass and mixing  in the $`\nu _\mu \nu _\tau `$ channel . Such hypothesis is consistent with all the SK data, including sub-GeV $`e`$-like and $`\mu `$-like events (SG$`e,\mu `$) , multi-GeV $`e`$-like and $`\mu `$-like events (MG$`e,\mu `$) , and upward-going muon events (UP$`\mu `$) , and is also corroborated by independent atmospheric neutrino results from the MACRO  and Soudan-2  experiments, as well as by the finalized upward-going muon data sample from the pioneering Kamiokande experiment . Oscillations in the $`\nu _\mu \nu _\tau `$ channel are also compatible with the negative results of the reactor experiment CHOOZ in the $`\nu _\mu \nu _e`$ channel .

However, it has been realized that dominant $`\nu _\mu \nu _\tau `$ oscillations plus subdominant $`\nu _\mu \nu _e`$ oscillations are also consistent with SK+CHOOZ data, and lead to a much richer three-flavor oscillation phenomenology . A detailed $`3\nu `$ analysis of the SK observations, including the full 33 kTy data sample, can be found in Ref. . Here we report and comment briefly the results of our updated analysis, based on the recent 45 kTy SK data . The theoretical framework is based on the so-called one mass scale dominance , which has been used also for three-flavor oscillation studies of pre-SK atmospheric and reactor neutrino data in Refs. .

## 2 $`3\nu `$ analysis of SK phenomenology (45 kTy)

In the hypothesis that the two lightest neutrinos $`(\nu _1,\nu _2)`$ are effectively degenerate $`(m_1^2m_2^2)`$ (one mass scale dominance), it can be shown  that atmospheric neutrinos probe only $`m^2m_3^2m_{1,2}^2`$, together with mixing matrix elements $`U_{\alpha i}`$ related to $`\nu _3`$, namely:

$$\mathrm{Parameter}\mathrm{space}(m^2,U_{e1}^2,U_{e2}^2,U_{e3}^2),$$
(1)   
where $`U_{e1}^2+U_{e2}^2+U_{e3}^2=1`$ for unitarity. The unitarity constraint can be conveniently embedded in a triangle plot , whose corners represent the flavor eigenstates, while the heights projected from any inner point represent the $`U_{\alpha 3}^2`$’s.

Within this framework, we analyze 30 data points, related to the zenith distributions of sub-GeV events (SG $`e`$-like and $`\mu `$-like, 5+5 bins), multi-GeV events (MG$`e`$,$`\mu `$ 5+5 bins) and upward-going muons (UP$`\mu `$, 10 bins), using the latest 45 kTy SK sample . We also consider the rate of events in the CHOOZ reactor experiment  (one bin), which constrains the $`\nu _e`$ disappearance channel. Constraints are obtained through a $`\chi ^2`$ statistic, as described in Ref. .

Figure 1 shows the regions favored at 90% and 99% C.L. in the triangle plot, for representative values of $`m^2`$. The CHOOZ data, which exclude a large horizontal strip in the triangle, appear to be crucial in constraining three-flavor mixing. Pure $`\nu _\mu \nu _e`$ oscillations (right side of the triangles) are excluded by SK and CHOOZ independently. The center of the lower side, corresponding to pure $`\nu _\mu \nu _\tau `$ oscillations with maximal mixing, is allowed in each triangle both by SK and SK+CHOOZ data. However, deviations from maximal $`(\nu _\mu \nu _\tau )`$ mixing, as well as subdominant mixing with $`\nu _e`$, are also allowed to some extent. Such deviations from maximal $`2\nu `$ mixing are slightly more constrained than in the previous analysis of the 33 kTy SK data .

Figure 2 shows the constraints on the mass parameter $`m^2`$ for unconstrained three-flavor mixing. The best fit value is reached at $`m^23\times 10^3`$ eV<sup>2</sup>, and is only slightly influenced by the inclusion of CHOOZ data. However, the upper bound on $`m^2`$ is significantly improved by including CHOOZ. As compared with the corresponding plot in Ref.  (33 kTy), this figure shows that the 45 kTy data are in better agreement with the oscillation hypothesis (lower $`\chi ^2`$). Moreover, the favored range of $`m^2`$ is restricted by $`10\%`$ with respect to Ref. .

Figures 1 and 2 clearly show the tremendous impact of the SK experiment in constraining the neutrino oscillation parameter space. Prior to SK, the data could not significantly favor $`\nu _\mu \nu _\tau `$ over $`\nu _\mu \nu _e`$ oscillations, and could only put weak bounds on $`m^2`$ (see Refs. ).

Finally, Fig. 3 shows the best-fit zenith distributions of SG$`e,\mu `$, MG$`e,\mu `$, and UP$`\mu `$ events, normalized to the no-oscillation rates in each bin. There is excellent agreement between data and theory, especially for the $`\mu `$ distributions. The nonzero value of $`U_{e3}^2`$ at best fit leads to a slight expected electron excess in the MG$`e`$ sample for $`\mathrm{cos}\theta 1`$. The observed electron excess is, however, somewhat larger than expected, both for SG$`e`$’s and for MG$`e`$’s. A significant reduction of the statistical error is needed to probe possible MG$`e`$ distortions, which would be unmistakable signals of subdominant $`\nu _\mu \nu _e`$ oscillations.

## 3 Outlook

The Super-Kamiokande data are compatible with three-flavor oscillations dominated by $`\nu _\mu \nu _\tau `$ transitions. The amplitude of the $`\nu _\mu \nu _e`$ channel is not necessarily zero, although being strongly constrained by both SK and CHOOZ. A contribution from the $`\nu _\mu \nu _e`$ channel might explain part of the electron excess observed in SK, especially for multi-GeV $`e`$-like events. Higher statistics is needed to test such interpretation. A definite progress in confirming the oscillation hypothesis, and in constraining the mass-mixing parameters, emerges from a comparison of the 33 kTy and 45 kTy SK data analyses.   
Acknowledgments. G.L.F. thanks the organizers of the workshop WIN’99 for kind hospitality.

## References