

The neutrino matrix & beyond

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Since the seminal discovery of the neutrino by Cowan and Reines in the late 1950's, intense experimental and theoretical effort has focused on the elucidation of neutrino properties and the role they play in elementary particle physics, astrophysics, and cosmology. Neutrinos are born in the fusion reactions powering our Sun and are thought to be the driving mechanism for supernova explosions. Neutrinos exist in copious amounts as the primordial afterglow of the Big Bang and, if massive, would play a role in the evolution and ultimate fate of the Universe. Central to many of the key issues in neutrino physics is the question of whether neutrinos possess non-zero rest mass. If neutrinos are massive, then one expects flavor mixing to occur in the neutrino sector which could lead to the phenomena of neutrino oscillations and the possibility of CP violation in the neutrino sector. A detailed understanding of the microscopic properties of neutrinos can serve to pave the way to a unified description of the fundamental forces of Nature.