Quantum Information Meets High-Energy Physics: Probing Neutrinos and Beyond

TL;DR

This work argues that open quantum systems and entanglement provide powerful tools to probe high-energy phenomena beyond the Standard Model. By treating neutrino dynamics as an open system interacting with gravitational and environmental baths, it connects decoherence and entanglement to the Dirac/Majorana nature of neutrinos and potential CPT violations, using GKLS-style formalisms and two-flavor oscillation physics. It further shows that axion-mediated interactions can generate detectable entanglement between two fermions, enabling an indirect probe of axions via Rényi-2 entropy measurements and carefully chosen time windows. The proposed framework offers a cross-disciplinary route to test fundamental symmetries and search for new particles, potentially guiding long-baseline experiments and entanglement-based detection strategies for axions.

Abstract

This review explores the interplay between quantum information theory and high-energy physics, emphasizing how decoherence effects and unconventional neutrino oscillation patterns may unveil fundamental properties such as the Dirac or Majorana nature of neutrinos and potential CPT violation. It further discusses the use of entanglement measures as novel probes of axion-mediated interactions, outlining interdisciplinary strategies to test the limits of the Standard Model and explore new physics beyond it.

Figures (1)

• Figure 1: A realistic description of the dynamics of a quantum system $\textrm{S}$ must incorporate its interaction with the surrounding environment $\textrm{E}$. While the joint system–environment evolution, governed by the Hamiltonian $\mathcal{H}_{\textrm{SE}} = \mathcal{H}_{\textrm{S}} + \mathcal{H}_{\textrm{E}} + \mathcal{H}_{\textrm{Int}}$ (with $\mathcal{H}_{\textrm{Int}}$ denoting the interaction term), is unitary, the reduced dynamics of the system is non-unitary as a consequence of this interaction. The reduced density matrix describing the system at time $t > 0$ can be obtained by tracing out the environmental degrees of freedom from the evolved total state, or equivalently, by applying a dynamical map to the initial system state. This map must be completely positive (CP) in order to preserve the physicality of the state 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199213900.001.0001.