Quantifying quantum coherence in experimentally observed neutrino oscillations

Abstract

Neutrino oscillation represents an intriguing physical phenomenon where the quantumness can be maintained and detected over a long distance. Previously, the non-classical character of neutrino oscillation was tested with the Leggett-Garg inequality, where a clear violation of the classical bound was observed [J. A. Formaggio et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 050402 (2016)]. However, there are several limitations in testing neutrino oscillations with the Leggett-Garg inequality. In particular, the degree of violation of the Leggett-Garg inequality cannot be taken as a "measure of quantumness". Here we focus on quantifying the quantumness of experimentally-observed neutrino oscillation, using the tools of recently-developed quantum resource theory. We analyzed ensembles of reactor and accelerator neutrinos at distinct energies from a variety of neutrino sources, including Daya Bay (0.5 km and 1.6 km), Kamland (180 km), MINOS (735 km), and T2K (295 km). The quantumness of the three-flavoured neutrino oscillation is characterized within a 3{\sigma} range relative to the theoretical prediction. It is found that the maximal coherence was observed in the neutrino source from the Kamland reactor. However, even though the survival probability of the Daya Bay experiment did not vary significantly (dropped about 10 percent), the coherence recorded can reach up to 40 percent of the maximal value. These results represent the longest distance over which quantumness were experimentally determined for quantum particles other than photons.