Feasibility of Neutrino Communication: A Modern Physics Reassessment

We present a modern reassessment of the feasibility of neutrino beam communication using muon sources, motivated by two influential but conflicting studies by Haapanen (2003) and Huber (2010). Haapanen, using pion-decay neutrino beamlines, concluded that neutrino communication is not practical, while Huber argued that a muon storage ring neutrino factory corresponding to the front end of a muon collider could, in principle, reach feasible rates. In this work, we first compare the two sources: conventional pion-decay neutrino beamlines and muon-decay neutrino factories emerging from a muon collider front end. Next, we lay out the key accelerator and interaction physics that control detection, from beam divergence and muon ranges to Cherenkov thresholds, and derive a rate scaling law that links source parameters to the detected muon signal. Using analytic estimates and numerically evaluated integrals, we reproduce and critically compare the original rate calculations, generalize Huber's pulse position modulation (PPM) capacity formula, and estimate the power and energy per bit required for different operating sources. Finally, we apply this framework to modern operational and near-future pion-decay beamline experiments in comparison to a neutrino factory, clarifying precisely why the 2003 and 2010 conclusions diverge, thus providing clear feasibility guidance for future neutrino communication sources.