Radiative decay of neutrino and primordial nucleosynthesis

Radiative decay of massive unstable neutrinos is examined in detail. Constraints on their mass and lifetime are established by solving the networks of nucleosynthesis and calculating the spectra of high-energy photons produced by massive neutrino decay. It is found that primordial nucleosynthesis sets stringent constraints on the mass and the lifetime of massive unstable neutrinos. According to these constraints together with constraints derived from other cosmological consideration and laboratory experiments, radiative decay of massive τ neutrinos is not allowed except for the case that the mass and the lifetime of the τ neutrino satisfy rather strict constraints; 30 MeV ≲ m_ντ ≲ 70 MeV, 10² s ≲ τ_ντ ≲ 10⁴ s. Constraints on neutrinos in the 4th generation are also derived.     

Radiative tau decay into pion

The possibility of the experimental investigation of the radiative tau decay into pion is discussed including background conditions. The decay width is estimated to be Br(τ→v _τ π γ)=0.15% (at the minimal registered photon energy 50 MeV). The contribution of the structural component is 10% of the total radiation. The main background is produced by photons from the τ→v _τ π ^? π ⁰ decay. We investigate the angular and energy spectra of the decay products and analyse the background conditions. The kinematic region was found where the structural radiation dominates over background.     

Lepton mixing under the lepton charge nonconservation, neutrino masses and oscillations and the “forbidden” decay µ− → e − + γ

The lepton-charge (L _e , L _μ , L _τ ) nonconserving interaction leads to the mixing of the electron, muon, and tau neutrinos, which manifests itself in spatial oscillations of a neutrino beam, and also to the mixing of the electron, negative muon, and tau lepton, which, in particular, may be the cause of the “forbidden” radiative decay of the negative muon into the electron and γ quantum. Under the assumption that the nondiagonal elements of the mass matrices for neutrinos and ordinary leptons, connected with the lepton charge nonconservation, are the same, and by performing the joint analysis of the experimental data on neutrino oscillations and experimental restriction for the probability of the decay µ^? → e ^? + γ per unit time, the following estimate for the lower bound of neutrino mass has been obtained: m ^(ν) > 1.5 eV/c ².     

Majorons: A simultaneous solution to the large and small scale dark matter problems

It is shown that the existence of majorons, which enable a heavy neutrino, 500 eV ? m_νH ? 25 keV to decay into a light neutrino m_νL ? 8 eV and a majoron, with lifetime 10⁴ yr ? τ_νH ? 10⁸ yr can solve both the large and small scale dark matter problems. For a primordial “Zeldovich” spectrum of fluctuations the limits are $\text{m}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>v</mtext><mtext>H</mtext>}}\text{?}\text{?}\text{550}\text{eV and}\text{τ}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>v</mtext><mtext>H</mtext>}}$ > 10⁷ to 10⁸ yr (the ranges m_νH ? eV and τ_νH ? 10⁸ yr are allowed by the model but galaxy formation becomes problematic). The large scale dark matter problem is how to achieve the critical density as implied by inflation, the small scale problems deal with the halos of galaxies and galaxy formation and perturbation growth. The heavy neutrino could provide the solution to the small scale problem by initiating perturbation growth before decoupling. The decay products will be fast and thus not bound to the initial clumps, thus solving the large scale problem. The low mass relic neutrinos that were not decay products would remain bound in the gravitational potentials which grew from the initial perturbations. The resulting universe would be radiation dominated, which is consistent with present observations if H₀ ? 40 km/s/Mpc. An alternative solution can occur when m_νH ≈ 10 eV: the universe can again become matter dominated in the present epoch. This solution still allows H⁰ ～ 50 km/s/Mpc. The majoron model parameters which best fit the dark matter considerations are presented.     

Results from the NOMAD experiment

The NOMAD experiment has sought ν_μ ? ν_τ oscillations by looking for the emergence of τ^? in events from the CERN SPS neutrino beam. With some improvements in the techniques of analysis in relation to the results published previously and with the inclusion of data from the 1998 run, no evidence for the oscillations has been found, which results in an updated limit on the oscillation probability [P(ν_μ → ν_τ) < 0.5 × 10^?3 at a 90% C.L.]. The corresponding limit on the oscillation mixing angle is given by sin²2θ_μτ < 1.0 × 10^?3 for large Δm ². By using a 1% contamination of ν_e in the neutrino beam, we can also rule out ν _e ? ν_τ oscillations and constrain the probability of the relevant transition as P(ν _e → ν_τ) < 3 × 10^?2 at a 90% C.L. (sin²2θ _eτ < 6 × 10^?2 at large Δm ²).     

Experimental consequences of νe−νμ mixing in neutrino beams

The experimental consequences of neutrino mixing and decay are analyzed. Existing neutrino beam experiments are consistent with a finite but small mixing angle unless |m_νμ²?m_νe²| ? (3.0 eV)². A finite ν_μ lifetime in the range τ/m_νμc² ? 7 × 10³ sec/MeV is shown to be consistent with experimental data.     

Determination of the radiative lifetime of the d3Πg state of the C2 molecule by the laser-pyrolysis technique. A feasibility study

The feasibility is studied of using the laser-pyrolysis technique for determination of the radiative lifetimes of molecules.Measurements of time-resolved spectral emission were made on spatially resolved sections of the luminous plume produced by laser illumination of a graphite target in a vacuum. The nature of certain emission continua was investigated. The effects on C₂ Swan band emission of focal spot size, illumination power density, height and width of the plasma section observed and its distance from the target were studied. Conditions were determined for measuring physically significant radiative lifetimes for the d³Π_g, v=0 and v=1 levels, of C₂. In particular, the laser flux used was 3.8×10⁸W-cm^?2 while observations were made of a plume section from 0.5 to 0.7 mm from the target. The results, τ(0,0)=235±20 ns, τ(0,1)=250±20 ns, τ(1,0)=255±20 ns, are compared with those obtained by other methods. They are in good agreement with results obtained by pulsed electron excitation. Analysis of the experimental conditions in previous experiments using the laser-pyrolysis technique for measuring τ(d³Π_g of C₂ shows that they could not have lead to meaningful results of purely molecular properties.     

An upper limit on the tau neutrino mass from leptonic tau decays

The partial width of the τ → e ^- v _e v _τ can be calculated from the tau mass, lifetime and branching ratio. The increasing precision on these measurements is making the partial width sensitive to the mass of the tau neutrino. We present the tau neutrino mass dependence on the partial width and show that this leads to a limit of m _r < 71 MeV at the 95% confidence level. We show that the limit is determined by the uncertainty in the tau lifetime and τ → e?v _e v _τ branching ratio. Additional measurements of these values are expected in the next few years and we show that the limit could become competitive with the direct measurements.     

Neutrino radiative decay in external field and medium

The current state of the theory of massive neutrino radiative decay is reviewed. By extending our previous studies, we thoroughly analyze the process of radiative decay of a massive Dirac neutrino in the strong external magnetic field H ? H ⁰ = m _e ² c ³ / e? = 4.41 × 10¹³ G in the presence of medium (degenerate electron gas), and calculate its probability. It is shown that, in the presence of dense medium, the latter quantity becomes much larger than that in the magnetic field in the case of both relativistic and nonrelativistic neutrinos. Possible astrophysical applications of the obtained results are considered.     

Neutrino radiative decay in N=1 supergravity theories

We show that the supersymmetrization of models where neutrinos acquire mass through the see-saw mechanism allows for tau neutrinos heavier than 15–20 MeV to decay radiatively in a cosmologically safe way (i.e. with a lifetime τ_v⩽5×10³s).     

Lifetime measurement in the β system (c1Φ-a1Δ) of TiO

The radiative lifetime of the v′ = 0 level of the c¹Φ state of TiO has been measured from observations on fluorescent decay of a single rotational level, following excitation by laser radiation. The value is τ₀ = 17.5 ± 1.0 nsec. From this is derived a transition probability of 5.71 × 10⁷ sec^?1 and an emission f value of 0.270. Transition probabilities for the other bands in the β system have been calculated.     

Neutrino physics at the turn of the millennium

I discuss the implications of the latest data on solar and atmospheric neutrinos which strongly indicate the need for physics beyond the Standard Model. I review the theoretical options for reconciling these data in terms of three-neutrino oscillations. Even though not implied by the data, bimaximal models of neutrino mixing emerge as an attractive possibility. Supersymmetry with broken R-parity provides a predictive way to incorporate it, opening the possibility of testing neutrino anomalies at high-energy collider experiments such as the LHC or at the upcoming long-baseline or neutrino factory experiments. Reconciling, in addition, the hint provided by the LSND experiment requires a fourth, light sterile, neutrino. The simplest theoretical scenarios are the most symmetric ones, in which two of the four neutrinos are maximally mixed and lie at the LSND scale, while the others are at the solar mass scale. The lightness of the sterile neutrino, the nearly maximal atmospheric neutrino mixing, and the generation of Δm _⊙ ² &; Δm _atm ² all follow naturally from the assumed lepton-number symmetry and its breaking. These two basic schemes can be distinguished at neutral-current-sensitive solar &; atmospheric neutrino experiments such as the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory. However, underground experiments have not yet proven neutrino masses, since there is a variety of alternative mechanisms. For example, flavor changing interactions can play an important role in the explanation of solar and of contained atmospheric data and could be tested through effects such as μ → e+γ, μ-e conversion in nuclei, unaccompanied by neutrino-less double beta decay. Conversely, the room is still open for heavy unstable neutrinos. A short-lived ν_μ might play a role in the explanation of the atmospheric data. Finally, in the presence of a sterile neutrino v_s, a long-lived ν_τ in the MeV range could delay the time at which the matter and radiation contributions to the energy density of the Universe become equal, reducing the density fluctuations on the smaller scales and rescuing the standard cold-dark-matter scenario for structure formation. In this case, the light v_e ν_μ, and v_s would account for the solar and atmospheric data.     

Solar neutrino oscillations from superstrings

A recently proposed model of neutrino mass based on the heterotic superstring is shown to lead naturally to large oscillations of the SU(2)-doublet neutrino into sterile fermions leading to the possibility of substantial depletion of the solar electron neutrino flux as suggested by Davis' results. The model also leads to a psuedo-Dirac nuetrino with m_v = 10–20 eV, without conflict with null searches for neutrinoless double beta decay.     

Influence of charginos on the decay rate ofZ 0→Hγ with and withoutR-parity breaking

We present a detailed calculation for the decay rate ofZ ⁰→Hγ, when charginos are taken into account inside the relevant penguin diagram. One result is that supersymmetry can suppress the contribution of the graph withW-bosons in the loop. We also give a detailed calculation of the exact mass eigenstates of the charginos and the real parts of the Higgs particles, when the scalar tau neutrino gets a vacuum expectation valuev _τ. We show thatv _τ≠0 enhances the influence on the decay rateZ ⁰→Hγ.     

Decays of intermediate vector bosons,radiative corrections and QCD jets

We investigate decay properties of the intermediate vector bosons W^± and Z⁰. QED and QCD radiative corrections to leptonic and hadronic decay modes are calculated. Implications of the results for decay widths, branching ratios, determination of the number of neutrino species, e-μ-τ universality and properties of hadronic jets produced in W^± and Z⁰ decays are examined.     

The decay of115 mIn

The decay of^115m In has been investigated using accurate counting methods. The emission rate of conversion electrons plusβ ^?-particles was determined with a 4π proportional flow counter. The total andK-shell internal conversion coefficients of the 336 keVγ-ray in¹¹⁵In were measured by the electron X-ray coincidence method using combinations of a Si surface barrier with a NaI(Tl) detector and of a magneticβ-spectrometer with a high energy resolution Si(Li) detector, respectively. The conversion ratioR=K/(L+M+...) was deduced from electron spectra recorded with the magneticβ-spectrometer. The 336 keVγ-ray emission rate of all used sources was determined with a calibrated NaI(Tl)γ-ray spectrometer. A Ge(Li) detector has been used to determine the relative intensity of the 497 keVγ-ray in¹¹⁵Sn. As results have been deduced the 336 keVγ-ray emission per decay (N _γ1/N ₀=(45.9 ± 0.1)%), the total internal conversion coefficient (α=1.073 ± 0.014), theK-shell internal conversion coefficient (α _K=0.843±0.012), the conversion ratioR=3.63±0.07, theβ ^?-transition per decay going to the ground state (N _β1/N ₀=(5.0 ± 0.7)%) and to the first excited level in¹¹⁵Sn¹¹⁵Sn(N _β2/N ₀=(0.047 ± 0.002)%), and the 497 keVγ-ray emission (N _γ2/N _γ1=(0.103 ± 0.004)%). From the obtained internal conversion data it follows that the 336 keVγ-ray transition is ofM4 character with anE5 admixture of less than (3.5±1.5)%. The half-life of the isomeric state¹¹⁵ mIn has been determined with four different methods. The result isT _1/2=(4.486±0.004) h.     

Flame spectroscopy of TiO: Radiative lifetimes and oscillator strengths of the α (C3Δ-X3Δ) system

Lifetimes of the C³Δ state of TiO have been measured for vibrational levels v′ = 0 to 2 from the decay of photoluminescence excited in a chemiluminescent flame by a short-pulsed (5 nsec) tunable dye laser. Radiative lifetimes of τ_v′=0 = 37 ± 9 nsec, τ_v′=1 = 29 ± 7 nsec, τ_v′=2 = 28 ± 7 nsec were obtained and were used to estimate oscillator strengths which were found to be in good agreement with earlier values based on intensity measurements.     

Left-right symmetry and finite one-loop Dirac neutrino mass

We present a modified version of the left-right symmetric model that includes a charged singlet scalar boson where the neutrino is massless at the tree level and acquires a smal and finite Dirac mass at the one-loop level. In the case if three families of fermions, it predicts m_ve=0 and the other two neutrinos are massive with v_τ lighter than v_v. The model also predicts large magnetic moments and v_μ→v_e+ψ decay rates. The new feature of the model is the inclusion of singlet charged heavy fermions which mix with the light quarks and leptons, leading to the existence of tree-level flavor-changing neutral currents, which can provide tests of the model.     

The mixing angles in matter for three generations of neutrinos and the MSW mechanism

Mikheyev and Smirnov have recently shown that oscillations between two species of neutrinos may be amplified in matter. We give analytic expressions for the energy eigenvalues, all the mixing angles and the CP-violating phase in matter for three generations of neutrinos using the Fritzsch parametrization for the flavor mixing matrix. For clearly separated neutrino masses Δm ₃₁ ² ?Δm ₂₁ ² we find two MSW resonance effects—one forv _e ?v _µ and one forv _e ?v _τ conversions —which can each be approximated by a separate two neutrino treatment as has been recently shown by Kuo and Pantaleone. Nearly degenerate neutrino masses Δm ₃₁ ² ～Δm ₂₁ ² on the other hand lead to only one resonance region withs _{1 2} ^{m 2} no longer necessarily approaching 1 for very high densities.     

Limits on the τ neutrino electromagnetic properties from single photon searches ate + e − colliders

We set limits on the magnetic moment and charge radius of the τ neutrino by examining the contributions to the processe ⁺ e ^?→v \(\bar \nu \) γ due to such interactions. We find thatK(ν_τ)<4×10^?6 (i.e.μ(ν_τ)<4×10^?6μ _B , μ _B =e/2m _e ) and 〈r ²〉<2×10^?31 cm² using the combined data of the MAC, ASP, CELLO, and Mark J collaborations for this process. We briefly discuss whether these bounds can be improved in any futuree ⁺ e ^? experiments.