FLAVOR MIXING AND CP VIOLATION OF MASSIVE NEUTRINOS

Abstract

We present an overview of recent progress in the phenomenological study of neutrino masses, lepton flavor mixing and CP violation. We concentrate on the model-independent properties of massive neutrinos, both in vacuum and in matter. Current experimental constraints on the neutrino mass spectrum and the lepton flavor mixing parameters are summarized. The Dirac- and Majorana-like phases of CP violation, which are associated respectively with the long-baseline neutrino oscillations and the neutrinoless double beta decay, are discussed in detail. The seesaw mechanism, the leptogenesis scenario and the strategies to construct lepton mass matrices are briefly described. The features of flavor mixing between one sterile neutrino and three active neutrinos are also explored.