Elastic scattering of neutrinos off polarized electrons

We calculate the cross sections for elastic nu(l) + e(-) --> nu(l) + e(-) and nu(l) + e(-) --> nu(l) + e(-) scattering (l = e, mu or tau) in the Born approximation and with exactly fixed polarization states of target and final-state electrons, discussing their sensitivity to the incident (anti)neutrino flavor. We suggest investigation of the flavor composition of a (anti)neutrino beam by a flux-independent analysis of the scattering of its constituents off polarized electrons. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.