Oscillation properties of active and sterile neutrinos and neutrino anomalies at short distances

A generalized phenomenological (3 + 2 + 1) model featuring three active and three sterile neutrinos that is intended for calculating oscillation properties of neutrinos for the case of a normal activeneutrino mass hierarchy and a large splitting between the mass of one sterile neutrino and the masses of the other two sterile neutrinos is considered. A new parametrization and a specific form of the general mixing matrix are proposed for active and sterile neutrinos with allowance for possible CP violation in the lepton sector, and test values are chosen for the neutrino masses and mixing parameters. The probabilities for the transitions between different neutrino flavors are calculated, and graphs representing the probabilities for the disappearance of muon neutrinos/antineutrinos and the appearance of electron neutrinos/antineutrinos in a beam of muon neutrinos/antineutrinos versus the distance from the neutrino source for various values of admissible model parameters at neutrino energies not higher than 50 MeV, as well as versus the ratio of this distance to the neutrino energy, are plotted. It is shown that the short-distance accelerator anomaly in neutrino data (LNSD anomaly) can be explained in the case of a specific mixing matrix for active and sterile neutrinos (which belongs to the a₂ type) at the chosen parameter values. The same applies to the short-distance reactor and gallium anomalies. The theoretical results obtained in the present study can be used to interpret and predict the results of ground-based neutrino experiments aimed at searches for sterile neutrinos, as well as to analyze some astrophysical observational data.     

Towards the detection of light and heavy relic neutrinos

The standard Big Bang cosmology predicts that the universe is abundantly populated with neutrinos. As expected there are at least 114 neutrinos per cubic centimeter averaged over the whole space. Like the cosmic background radiation the cosmic neutrinos at present posses a very small kinetic energy due to expansion of the universe. This prediction is one of the cornerstones of modern cosmology. On the other hand the existence of cosmic neutrinos has not yet been confirmed by direct detection experiments. For now we only have a lower limit on the total mass of this free floating ghostly gas of neutrinos, but even so it is roughly equivalent to the total mass of all the visible stars in universe. There could be many more neutrinos at Earth because of condensation of neutrinos, now moving slowly under the gravitational pull of our galaxy. Here we discuss the possibility of detection of relic neutrinos in KATRIN and MARE experiments via neutrino capture on tritium and rhenium, respectively. We also examine single and double relic neutrino capture on double β-decaying nuclei which might be relevant in the context of the new generation double beta decay experiments. Further we explore feasibility of experiments for detection of heavy sterile neutrinos with masses in MeV region, which may have important astrophysical and cosmological implications.     

Neutrinos in matter and external fields

A brief survey of effects generated by the influence of the environment on neutrinos is presented. The issues considered here include flavor and spin oscillations of neutrinos in matter, in electromagnetic fields of various configurations, and in gravitational fields; the electromagnetic properties of the neutrinos and the environment-induced change in these properties; photoneutrino processes generated by the environment; urca processes in magnetic fields; various mechanisms that may be responsible for the asymmetry of neutrino radiation from neutron stars; quantum states of neutrinos in matter and the spin light of neutrinos in matter and external fields; and astrophysical and cosmological applications of the above processes and phenomena. The method that is employed to describe the effect of the environment on neutrinos (as well as on electrons) and which is based on the application of exact solutions to the corresponding modified Dirac equations for particles in matter is briefly discussed.     

Decay and decoupling of heavy right-handed Majorana neutrinos in the L–R model

Heavy right-handed neutrinos are of current interest. The interactions and decay of such neutrinos determine their decoupling epoch during the evolution of the universe. This in turn affects various observable features like the energy density, nucleosynthesis, CMBR spectrum, galaxy formation and baryogenesis. Here, we consider reduction of right-handed electron-type Majorana neutrinos, in the left–right symmetric model, by the channel and the channel originating from an anomaly, involving the gauge group, as well as decay of such neutrinos. We study the reduction of these neutrinos for different ranges of left–right model parameters, and find that, if the neutrino mass exceeds the right-handed gauge boson mass, then the neutrinos never decouple for realistic values of the parameters, but, rather, decay in equilibrium. Because there is no out-of-equilibrium decay, no mass bounds can be set for the neutrinos. Received: 1 November 2000 / Published online: 23 February 2001     

Neutrino flavor conversion in random magnetic fields

If massive neutrinos possess magnetic moments, a magnetic field can cause a spin flip. In the case of Dirac neutrinos the spin flip converts an active neutrino into a sterile one and vice versa. By constrast, if neutrinos are Majorana particles, a spin flip converts them to a neutrino of a different flavor. We examine the behavior of neutrinos in a random magnetic field as it occurs, for instance, in certain astronomical objects, such as an active galactic nucleus. Both Dirac and Majorana neutrinos behave ergodically: independently of their initial density matrix, they tend towards an equipartition of the helicity states. As a result, about half of the Dirac neutrinos produced becomes sterile. For Majorana neutrinos, there will be an approximate equipartition of flavors, independently of the production mechanism.     

Nonlinear propagation of neutrinos in a strongly magnetized medium

The nonlinear propagation of an intense neutrino flux in an electron-positron plasma with equilibrium density and magnetic field inhomogeneities is considered. It is found that the neutrinos are nonlinearly coupled with electrostatic and electromagnetic disturbances due to weak Fermi interaction and ponderomotive forces. The process is governed by a Klein-Gordon equation for the neutrino flux and a wave equation for the plasma oscillations in the presence of the ponderomotive force of the neutrinos. This pair of equations is then used to derive a nonlinear dispersion relation which exhibits that nonthermal electrostatic and electromagnetic fluctuations are created on account of the energy density of the neutrinos. The relevance of our investigation to the anomalous absorption of neutrinos in a nonuniform magnetized medium is pointed out.     

Neutrino Production via e-e+ Collision at Z-Boson Peak

The production of the three normal neutrinos via e^-e⁺ collision at Z-boson peak (neutrino production in a Z-factory) is investigated thoroughly. The differences of v_e-pair production from v_μ-pair and v_τ-pair production are presented in various aspects. Namely the total cross sections, relevant differential cross sections and the forward-backward asymmetry etc. for these neutrinos are presented in terms of figures as well as numerical tables. The restriction on the room for the mixing of the three species of light neutrinos with possible externals (heavy neutral leptons and/or sterile neutrinos) from refined measurements of the invisible width of Z-boson is discussed.     

Dark matter neutrinos must come with degenerate masses

It has been known that there are two schemes in the framework of three flavor neutrinos to accommodate the global features of the hot dark matter neutrinos, the solar neutrino deficit and the atmospheric neutrino anomaly in a manner consistent with terreatrial neutrino experiments, i.e., hierarchical mass neutrinos and almost degenerate neutrinos. We deminstrate that the recent result by the CHOOZ experiment excludes the scheme of hierarchical neutrinos. We also point out in the scheme of almost degenerate neutrinos that if neutrinos are Majorana particles then the double β decay experiments must see positive signals on their way to reach a limit more stringent than the present one by a factor of 5.     

Dark energy interacting with neutrinos and dark matter: a phenomenological theory

A model for a flat homogeneous and isotropic Universe composed of dark energy, dark matter, neutrinos, radiation and baryons is analyzed. The fields of dark matter and neutrinos are supposed to interact with the dark energy. The dark energy is considered to obey either the van der Waals or the Chaplygin equations of state. The ratio between the pressure and the energy density of the neutrinos varies with the red-shift simulating massive and non-relativistic neutrinos at small red-shifts and non-massive relativistic neutrinos at high red-shifts. The model can reproduce the expected red-shift behaviors of the deceleration parameter and of the density parameters of each constituent. Dedicated to Professor Ingo Müller on the occasion of his seventieth birthday.     

Study of accelerator neutrino detection at a spallation source

We study the detection of accelerator neutrinos produced at the China Spallation Neutron Source(CSNS).Using the code FLUKA,we have simulated the production of neutrinos in a proton beam on a tungsten target and obtained the yield efficiency,numerical flux,and average energy of different flavors of neutrinos.Furthermore,detection of these accelerator neutrinos is investigated in two reaction channels:neutrino-electron reactions and neutrino-carbon reactions.The expected numbers of different flavors of neutrinos have also been calculated.     

Sterile neutrinos in string derived models

The MiniBooNE collaboration recently reported further evidence for the existence of sterile neutrinos, implying substantial mixing with the left-handed active neutrinos and at a comparable mass scale. I argue that while sterile neutrinos may arise naturally in large volume string models, they prove more of a challenge in heterotic-string models that replicate the Grand Unified Theory structure of the Standard Model matter states. Sterile neutrinos in heterotic-string models may imply the existence of an additional Abelian gauge symmetry of order 10–100 TeV.     

Recent Highlights from IceCube

The ~1 km ³ IceCube neutrino observatory was completed in December, 2010 and is taking data on cosmic-ray muons and neutrinos, extraterrestrial neutrinos, and setting limits on a variety of exotic phenomena. This proceeding will cover recent IceCube results, with an emphasis on cosmic rays and on searches for extraterrestrial neutrinos, with a stress on results presented at the 2013 International Cosmic Ray Conference.     

On the physics of massive neutrinos

Massive neutrinos open up the possibility for a variety of new physical phenomena. Among them are oscillations and double beta decay. Furthermore, they influence several fields from particle physics to cosmology. In this article the concept of massive neutrinos is given and the present state of experimental research is extensively reviewed. This includes astrophysical studies of solar, supernova and very high energy neutrinos. Future perspectives are also outlined.     

On the propagation of photons and neutrinos in curved space-time

It is shown using a classical wave theory approach that photons and neutrinos have different propagation properties in curved space-time. It is also shown that neutrinos have the anomalous property that the sign of their energy density may change as they propagate, and they may even become ghost neutrinos in some regions.     

Cosmic-ray muon and atmospheric neutrino fluxes at very high energies

Estimates of cosmic-ray muon and atmospheric neutrino fluxes at TeV energies are obtained taking into account a “prompt” production of muons and neutrinos through charmed-particle decays and a “direct” lepton-pair production through the Drell-Yan mechanism and resonances. It is found that the contribution of charmed particles to the muon flux is equal to that from the conventional sources (pion and kaon decays) at 60 TeV, and the same equality can take place at 10 and 1 TeV for muon and electron neutrinos, respectively (for particles coming to sea level in the vertical direction). This “direct” production contribution to muon and neutrino fluxes is estimated very arbitrarily, but it cannot be excluded that this contribution is equal to that from the conventional source at energies of 0.5 and 0.05 PeV for muons and muon neutrinos, respectively. Currently, the estimates of the “prompt” and the “direct” contributions to cosmic-ray muons and atmospheric neutrinos are only qualitative. This is true especially for the “direct” contribution. Nevertheless, it seems reasonable to attract attention to these potentially important sources of atmospheric muons and neutrinos.     

Three layers of neutrinos

In this Letter we point out that in a class of models for spontaneous R-parity breaking based on gauged B−L$B-L$, the spectrum for neutrinos is quite peculiar. We find that those models generally predict three layers of neutrinos: one heavy sterile neutrino, two massive active neutrinos, and three nearly massless (one active and two sterile) neutrinos.     

Effective potential for highly relativistic neutrinos in a weakly magnetized medium and their oscillation

We have calculated the effective potential experienced by highly relativistic neutrinos in a weakly magnetized electron–positron plasma, where a momentum-dependent finite-width correction to the propagator of W is considered to account for the threshold effect. Magnetars are believed to be sources of TeV–PeV neutrinos which are produced due to photomeson and proton–proton interactions in their atmosphere. We have studied the resonant-oscillation process ν _e ↔ ν _μ,τ of the highly relativistic neutrinos in the atmosphere of SGR 1806-20, which is a magnetar. It is shown that, for high-energy neutrinos propagating within the magnetar atmosphere, the resonance condition can never be satisfied. On the other hand, if GeV neutrinos are produced deep inside the magnetar atmosphere, where the temperature is about 50 keV or more, then these neutrinos can undergo resonant oscillation.     

Baryogenesis from mixing of lepton doublets

It is shown that the mixing of lepton doublets of the Standard Model can yield sizable contributions to the lepton asymmetry, that is generated through the decays of right-handed neutrinos at finite temperature in the early Universe. When calculating the flavour-mixing correlations, we account for the effects of Yukawa as well as of gauge interactions. We compare the freeze-out asymmetry from lepton-doublet mixing to the standard contributions from the mixing and direct decays of right-handed neutrinos. The asymmetry from lepton mixing is considerably large when the mass ratio between the right-handed neutrinos is of order of a few, while it becomes Maxwell-suppressed for larger hierarchies. For an intermediate range between the case of degenerate right-handed neutrinos (resonant leptogenesis) and the hierarchical case, lepton mixing can yield the main contribution to the lepton asymmetry.     

Constraint on the heavy sterile neutrino mixing angles in the SO(10) model with double see-saw mechanism

Constraints on the heavy sterile neutrino mixing angles are studied in the framework of a minimal supersymmetric SO(10) model with the use of the double see-saw mechanism. A new singlet matter in addition to the right-handed neutrinos is introduced to realize the double see-saw mechanism. The light Majorana neutrino mass matrix is, in general, given by a combination of those of the singlet neutrinos and the active neutrinos. The minimal SO(10) model is used to give an example form of the Dirac neutrino mass matrix, which enables us to predict the masses and the mixing angles in the enlarged 9×9 neutrino mass matrix. Mixing angles between the light Majorana neutrinos and the heavy sterile neutrinos are shown to be within the LEP experimental bound on all ranges of the Majorana phases.