Neutrino oscillations at an entry-level neutrino factory and beyond - art.no. 073002

We consider the parameters of an entry-level neutrino factory designed to m ake the first observation of nu(e) --> nu(mu) oscillations, measure the cor responding amplitude sin(2)2 theta(13), and determine the sign of the atmos pheric-scale delta m(32)(2) via matter effects. A 50 kt detector, a stored muon energy E(mu)greater than or equal to 20 GeV and 10(19) moon decays wou ld enable these goals to be met provided sin(2)2 theta(13)>0.01. The determ ination of the sign of delta m(32)(2) also requires a baseline L greater th an or equal to 2000 km. An upgraded neutrino factory with O(10(20)) decays would enable the first observation of nu(e) --> nu(tau) oscillations. With O(10(21)) decays the effects of a large CP phase could be measured in the c ase of the large angle matter oscillation solution to the solar neutrino an omaly. Our analysis includes a family of three-neutrino models that can acc ount for the atmospheric and solar neutrino oscillation indications.