Determination of the $θ_{23}$ octant in LBNO

Abstract

According to the recent results of the neutrino oscillation experiment MINOS, the neutrino mixing angle $θ_{23}$ may not be maximal ($45^{\circ}$). Two nearly degenerate solutions are possible, one in the lower octant (LO) where $θ_{23}<45^{\circ}$, and one in the higher octant (HO) where $θ_{23}>45^{\circ}$. Long baseline experiments measuring the $ν_μ\rightarrowν_{e}$ are capable of resolving this degeneracy. In this work we study the potential of the planned European LBNO experiment to distinguish between the LO and HO solutions.

12 pages, 8 figures in two sets