Recent results and perspectives in neutrino oscillation physics

Abstract

Experiments with solar, atmospheric, reactor and accelerator neutrinos have produced data of great scientific relevance, providing compelling evidence for neutrino oscillations caused by nonzero neutrino masses and mixing. The observation of the neutrino oscillation pattern is indeed amongst the major discoveries of the last two decades and demands significant revision of the Standard Model. Many important questions still remain unanswered: What is the hierarchy of the neutrino masses? Are neutrinos their own antiparticles? What is their mass scale? Are there more than 3 neutrino species? In this paper recent developments in the current Neutrino Oscillation studies are reviewed, from electron antineutrino and muon neutrino disappearance experiments to tau and electron neutrino appearance experiments, with an eye to the future neutrino oscillation experiments and facilities. Neutrino oscillation physics is in fact entering an exciting period, with several experiments under construction, or on the horizon, addressing the discovery of the neutrino mass hierarchy, to the study of CP violation in the leptonic sector and possibly to the observation of new unexpected neutrino phenomena.