Wolfenstein-like Parametrization of the Neutrino Mixing Matrix

We show that the $3\times 3$ lepton flavor mixing matrix $V$ can be expanded in powers of a Wolfenstein-like parameter $\Lambda \equiv |V_{\mu 3}| \sim 1/\sqrt{2}$, which measures the strength of flavor conversion in atmospheric neutrino oscillations. The term of $\mathcal{O}({\mathrm{\Lambda }}^2)$ is associated with the large mixing angle in solar neutrino oscillations. The Dirac phase of CP violation enters at or below $\mathcal{O}({\mathrm{\Lambda }}^8)$, and the Majorana phases of CP violation are not subject to the $\mathrm{\Lambda }$-expansion. Terrestrial matter effects on this new parametrization in realistic long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments are briefly discussed. Some comments are also given on the possible relation between $\mathrm{\Lambda }$ and a relatively weak hierarchy of neutrino masses.