Deviations in tribimaximal mixing from sterile neutrino sector

Abstract We explore the possibility of generating a non-zero U e 3 element of the neutrino mixing matrix from tribimaximal neutrino mixing by adding a light sterile neutrino to the active neutrinos. Small active–sterile mixing can provide the necessary deviation from tribimaximal mixing to generate a non-zero θ 13 and atmospheric mixing θ 23 different from maximal. Assuming no CP-violation, we study the phenomenological impact of sterile neutrinos in the context of current neutrino oscillation data. The tribimaximal pattern is broken in such a manner that the second column of tribimaximal mixing remains intact in the neutrino mixing matrix.