Quantum Estimation Theory for Neutrino Physics

Quantum estimation theory provides a fundamental framework for analyzing how precisely physical parameters can be estimated from measurements. Neutrino oscillations are characterized by a set of parameters inferred from experiments conducted in different production and detection environments. The two solar oscillation parameters, $Δm^2_{21}$ and $θ_{12}$ , can be estimated using both solar neutrino experiments and reactor neutrino experiments. In reactor experiments, neutrinos are detected after coherent vacuum evolution, while solar neutrinos arrive at the detector as incoherent mixtures. In this work, we use Quantum Fisher Information (QFI) to quantify and compare the information content accessible in these two experimental setups. We find that for reactor neutrinos, flavor measurements saturate the QFI bound for both parameters over specific energy ranges, demonstrating their optimality and explaining the high precision achieved by these experiments. In contrast, for solar neutrinos the phase-based contribution to the QFI, originating from the quantum coherence, is absent, rendering the estimation of $Δm_{21}^2$ purely population-based and effectively classical, while the QFI for $θ_{12}$ is dominated by basis rotation at high energies and is nearly saturated by flavor measurements. Consequently, solar neutrino experiments are intrinsically more sensitive to $θ_{12}$ than to $Δm_{21}^2$ . This analysis highlights a fundamental distinction between the two estimation problems and accounts for their differing achievable precisions.Quantum estimation theory provides a fundamental framework for analyzing how precisely physical parameters can be estimated from measurements. Neutrino oscillations are characterized by a set of parameters inferred from experiments conducted in different production and detection environments. The two solar oscillation parameters, $Δm^2_{21}$ and $θ_{12}$, can be estimated using both solar neutrino experiments and reactor neutrino experiments. In reactor experiments, neutrinos are detected after coherent vacuum evolution, while solar neutrinos arrive at the detector as incoherent mixtures. In this work, we use Quantum Fisher Information (QFI) to quantify and compare the information content accessible in these two experimental setups. We find that for reactor neutrinos, flavor measurements saturate the QFI bound for both parameters over specific energy ranges, demonstrating their optimality and explaining the high precision achieved by these experiments. In contrast, for solar neutrinos the phase-based contribution to the QFI, originating from the quantum coherence, is absent, rendering the estimation of $Δm_{21}^2$ purely population-based and effectively classical, while the QFI for $θ_{12}$ is dominated by basis rotation at high energies and is nearly saturated by flavor measurements. Consequently, solar neutrino experiments are intrinsically more sensitive to $θ_{12}$ than to $Δm_{21}^2$. This analysis highlights a fundamental distinction between the two estimation problems and accounts for their differing achievable precisions.

hep-phCross-listedarXiv:2602.07991Feb 10, 20260 citations

USE OF QUANTUM COHERENCE FOR NEUTRINO PHYSICS

M. Yoshimura

WORLD SCIENTIFIC eBooksApr 20, 20170 citations

Testing Quantum Physics with Neutrinos

Anonymous

PhysicsJul 26, 20160 citations

Quantum estimation in neutrino oscillations

Edson C. M. Nogueira, de Souza, Gustavo, Adalberto D. Varizi +1 more

Neutrino oscillations are at the forefront of advances in Physics beyond the Standard Model. Increasing accuracy in measurements of the neutrino mixing matrix is an important challenge in current experiments. It depends on parameters that do not directly correspond to observables of the neutrino system. This type of estimation problem is handled by Quantum Estimation Theory (QET) via the Fisher Information (FI) and the Quantum Fisher Information (QFI). In this work, we analyze two-flavor neutrino oscillations within the framework of QET. We compute the QFI for the mixing angle $θ$ and show that mass measurements are the ones that achieve optimal precision. We also study the FI associated with flavor measurements and show that they are optimized at specific neutrino times-of-flight. Therefore, although the usual population measurement does not realize the precision limit set by the QFI, it can in principle be implemented with the best possible sensitivity to $θ$ . We study how these quantifiers relate to the single-particle, mode entanglement. We demonstrate that this form of entanglement does not enhance neither of them. In particular, this shows that in single-particle settings, entanglement is not directly connected with the optimal precision in metrological tasks.Neutrino oscillations are at the forefront of advances in Physics beyond the Standard Model. Increasing accuracy in measurements of the neutrino mixing matrix is an important challenge in current experiments. It depends on parameters that do not directly correspond to observables of the neutrino system. This type of estimation problem is handled by Quantum Estimation Theory (QET) via the Fisher Information (FI) and the Quantum Fisher Information (QFI). In this work, we analyze two-flavor neutrino oscillations within the framework of QET. We compute the QFI for the mixing angle $θ$ and show that mass measurements are the ones that achieve optimal precision. We also study the FI associated with flavor measurements and show that they are optimized at specific neutrino times-of-flight. Therefore, although the usual population measurement does not realize the precision limit set by the QFI, it can in principle be implemented with the best possible sensitivity to $θ$. We study how these quantifiers relate to the single-particle, mode entanglement. We demonstrate that this form of entanglement does not enhance neither of them. In particular, this shows that in single-particle settings, entanglement is not directly connected with the optimal precision in metrological tasks.

arXiv:1610.05388Oct 18, 20160 citations

Leptonic CP Phase Determination from Fisher Information in NO $ν$ A and T2KLeptonic CP Phase Determination from Fisher Information in NO$ν$A and T2K

Neetu Raj Singh Chundawat, Luis A. Delgadillo, Yu-Feng Li

The precise determination of the leptonic CP phase $δ_{\rm CP}$ remains one of the central objectives of current and future long-baseline (LBL) neutrino oscillation experiments. Quantum estimation theory provides a natural framework to quantify the ultimate precision limits for estimating physical parameters encoded in quantum states. In this work, we employ the quantum Fisher information to investigate how much information about $δ_{\rm CP}$ is intrinsically encoded in neutrino states and how efficiently it is extracted in present LBL experiments such as T2K and NO $ν$ A. We first analyze the intrinsic quantum sensitivity of neutrino and antineutrino states and demonstrate how matter effects generate a neutrino mass-ordering dependent information structure. To compare the intrinsic information content of the quantum state with the information experimentally accessible through flavor measurements, we compute the event-level Fisher information from reconstructed event spectra using Poisson statistics. We find that both experiments extract only a small fraction of the total information available in the underlying quantum state. This extraction efficiency becomes particularly suppressed near maximally CP-violating regions, where the reconstructed event spectra exhibit reduced sensitivity to small variations in $δ_{\rm CP}$ . Our analysis provides a complementary information-theoretic perspective on precise estimation of oscillation parameters in LBL neutrino experiments.The precise determination of the leptonic CP phase $δ_{\rm CP}$ remains one of the central objectives of current and future long-baseline (LBL) neutrino oscillation experiments. Quantum estimation theory provides a natural framework to quantify the ultimate precision limits for estimating physical parameters encoded in quantum states. In this work, we employ the quantum Fisher information to investigate how much information about $δ_{\rm CP}$ is intrinsically encoded in neutrino states and how efficiently it is extracted in present LBL experiments such as T2K and NO$ν$A. We first analyze the intrinsic quantum sensitivity of neutrino and antineutrino states and demonstrate how matter effects generate a neutrino mass-ordering dependent information structure. To compare the intrinsic information content of the quantum state with the information experimentally accessible through flavor measurements, we compute the event-level Fisher information from reconstructed event spectra using Poisson statistics. We find that both experiments extract only a small fraction of the total information available in the underlying quantum state. This extraction efficiency becomes particularly suppressed near maximally CP-violating regions, where the reconstructed event spectra exhibit reduced sensitivity to small variations in $δ_{\rm CP}$. Our analysis provides a complementary information-theoretic perspective on precise estimation of oscillation parameters in LBL neutrino experiments.

hep-phCross-listedarXiv:2605.30404May 29, 20260 citations

THE ROLE OF QUANTUM MECHANICS IN NEUTRINO FACTORIES

Juan Carlos Gallardo, Andrew M. Sessler, Jonathan Syrkin Wurtele

Quantum Aspects of Beam PhysicsMay 1, 20020 citations

Δm^2_{21}

and

θ_{12}

, can be estimated using both solar neutrino experiments and reactor neutrino experiments. In reactor experiments, neutrinos are detected after coherent vacuum evolution, while solar neutrinos arrive at the detector as incoherent mixtures. In this work, we use Quantum Fisher Information (QFI) to quantify and compare the information content accessible in these two experimental setups. We find that for reactor neutrinos, flavor measurements saturate the QFI bound for both parameters over specific energy ranges, demonstrating their optimality and explaining the high precision achieved by these experiments. In contrast, for solar neutrinos the phase-based contribution to the QFI, originating from the quantum coherence, is absent, rendering the estimation of

Δm_{21}^2

purely population-based and effectively classical, while the QFI for

θ_{12}

is dominated by basis rotation at high energies and is nearly saturated by flavor measurements. Consequently, solar neutrino experiments are intrinsically more sensitive to

θ_{12}

than to

Δm_{21}^2

. This analysis highlights a fundamental distinction between the two estimation problems and accounts for their differing achievable precisions.

θ

and show that mass measurements are the ones that achieve optimal precision. We also study the FI associated with flavor measurements and show that they are optimized at specific neutrino times-of-flight. Therefore, although the usual population measurement does not realize the precision limit set by the QFI, it can in principle be implemented with the best possible sensitivity to

θ

. We study how these quantifiers relate to the single-particle, mode entanglement. We demonstrate that this form of entanglement does not enhance neither of them. In particular, this shows that in single-particle settings, entanglement is not directly connected with the optimal precision in metrological tasks.

Leptonic CP Phase Determination from Fisher Information in NO

ν

A and T2K

The precise determination of the leptonic CP phase

δ_{\rm CP}

remains one of the central objectives of current and future long-baseline (LBL) neutrino oscillation experiments. Quantum estimation theory provides a natural framework to quantify the ultimate precision limits for estimating physical parameters encoded in quantum states. In this work, we employ the quantum Fisher information to investigate how much information about

δ_{\rm CP}

is intrinsically encoded in neutrino states and how efficiently it is extracted in present LBL experiments such as T2K and NO

ν

A. We first analyze the intrinsic quantum sensitivity of neutrino and antineutrino states and demonstrate how matter effects generate a neutrino mass-ordering dependent information structure. To compare the intrinsic information content of the quantum state with the information experimentally accessible through flavor measurements, we compute the event-level Fisher information from reconstructed event spectra using Poisson statistics. We find that both experiments extract only a small fraction of the total information available in the underlying quantum state. This extraction efficiency becomes particularly suppressed near maximally CP-violating regions, where the reconstructed event spectra exhibit reduced sensitivity to small variations in

δ_{\rm CP}

. Our analysis provides a complementary information-theoretic perspective on precise estimation of oscillation parameters in LBL neutrino experiments.