Hierarchical neutrinos and supersymmetric inflation

A moderate extension of MSSM based on a left-right symmetric gauge group, within which hybrid inflation is `naturally' realized, is discussed. The μ problem is solved via a Peccei-Quinn symmetry. Light neutrinos acquire hierarchical masses by the seesaw mechanism. They are taken from the small angle MSW resolution of the solar neutrino puzzle and the SuperKamiokande data. The range of parameters consistent with maximal ν<sub>μ</sub>−ν<sub>τ</sub> mixing and the gravitino constraint is determined. The baryon asymmetry of the universe is generated through a primordial leptogenesis. The subrange of parameters, where the baryogenesis constraint is also met, is specified. The required values of parameters are more or less `natural'.     

Testing the vacuum oscillation and the MSW solutions of the solar neutrino problem

Solar model independent tests of the vacuum oscillation and MSW solutions of the solar neutrino problem are considered. Detailed predictions for time (seasonal) variations of the signals due to neutrino oscillations in vacuum are given for the future solar neutrino detectors (SNO, Super-Kamiokande, BOREXINO, HELLAZ). Results on the distortions of the spectra of ⁸B neutrinos, and of e⁻ from the reaction ν + e⁻ → ν + e⁻ induced by ⁸B neutrinos, are presented in the cases of vacuum oscillations or MSW transitions for a large number of values of the relevant parameters. The possibilities to distinguish between the vacuum oscillation, the MSW adiabatic, and the MSW nonadiabatic transitions in the future solar neutrino experiments are discussed.     

A new three-flavor oscillation solution of the solar neutrino deficit in <Emphasis Type="Italic">R</Emphasis>-parity violating supersymmetry

We present a solution of the solar neutrino deficit using three flavors of neutrinos and R-parity non-conserving supersymmetry. In this model, in vacuum, the is massless and unmixed, mass and mixing being restricted to the - sector only, which we choose in consistency with the requirements of the atmospheric neutrino anomaly. The flavor changing and flavor diagonal neutral currents present in the model and the three-flavor picture together produce an energy dependent resonance-induced - mixing in the sun. This mixing plays a key role in the new solution to the solar neutrino problem. The best fit to the solar neutrino rates and spectrum (1258-day SK and 241-day SNO data) requires a mass square difference of eV² in vacuum between the two lightest neutrinos. This solution cannot accommodate a significant day-night effect for solar neutrinos nor CP violation in terrestrial neutrino experiments. Received: 26 December 2001 / Revised version: 16 February 2002 / Published online: 26 July 2002     

Impact of large mixing angle MSW solution on neutrino mass matrix

We have discussed the quark-lepton mass matrices with the U(1) and O(3) flavor symmetry in SU(5), which lead to the large mixing angle MSW solution of solar neutrinos.     

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.     

Fermion masses and mixing angles in anSU(2) L ×U(1) model with horizontal interactions

AnSU(2) _L ×U(1) horizontal model is presented, in which fermions mass splitting, quark and lepton family mixing is attributed to the presence of the horizontal interactions. In the quark sector, the Cabibbo angle and the Cabibbo-like angles are evaluated. In the lepton sector, the neutrinos mixing angles, which orginate from the charged leptons mixing, are calculated, the scale of the horizontal interactions is related to the neutrino oscillation length.     

Inverted hierarchy of neutrino masses disfavored by supernova 1987A

We discuss the flavor conversion of supernova neutrinos in the three-flavor mixing scheme of neutrinos. We point out that by neutrino observation from supernova one can discriminate the inverted hierarchy of neutrino masses from the normal one if s₁₃²≳a few×10⁻⁴, irrespective of which oscillation solution to the solar neutrino problem is realized in nature. We perform an analysis of data of SN1987A and obtain a strong indication that the inverted mass hierarchy is disfavored unless s₁₃²≲a few×10⁻⁴.     

Majorana neutrinos, <Emphasis Type="Italic">CP</Emphasis> violation,neutrinoless double beta and tritium beta decays

If the present or upcoming searches for neutrinoless double beta ((ββ)_0ν) decay give a positive result, the Majorana nature of massive neutrinos will be established. From the determination of the value of the (ββ)_0ν-decay effective Majorana mass parameter (|〈m〉|), it would be possible to obtain information on the type of neutrino mass spectrum. Assuming 3-ν mixing and massive Majorana neutrinos, we discuss the information that a measurement of, or an upper bound on, |〈m〉| can provide on the value of the lightest neutrino mass m₁. With additional data on the neutrino masses obtained in ³H β-decay experiments, it might be possible to establish whether the CP symmetry is violated in the lepton sector. This would require very high precision measurements. If CP invariance holds, the allowed patterns of the relative CP parities of the massive Majorana neutrinos would be determined.     

A simple modification of the maximal mixing scenario for three light neutrinos

We suggest a simple modification of the maximal mixing scenario (withS ₃ permutation symmetry) for three light neutrinos. Our neutrino mass matrix has smaller permutation symmetryS ₂(ν _μ ?ν _e ), and is consistent with all neutrino experiments except the³⁷Cl experiment. The resulting mass eigenvalues for three neutrinos arem ₁≈(2.55?1.27)×10^?3eV,m _2,3≈(0.71?1.43)eV for Δm _LSND ² =0.5?2.0eV². Then these light neutrinos can account for ～(2.4?4.8)% (6.2?12.4%) of the dark matter forh=0.8 (0.5). Our model predicts theν _μ →ν _τ oscillation probability in the range sensitive to the future experiments such as CHORUS and NOMAD.     

Finite modular groups and lepton mixing

We study lepton mixing patterns which are derived from finite modular groups ΓN, requiring subgroups Gν and Ge to be preserved in the neutrino and charged lepton sectors, respectively. We show that only six groups ΓN with N=3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 16 are relevant. A comprehensive analysis is presented for Ge arbitrary and Gν=Z₂×Z₂, as demanded if neutrinos are Majorana particles. We discuss interesting patterns arising from both groups Ge and Gν being arbitrary. Several of the most promising patterns are specific deviations from tri-bimaximal mixing, all predicting θ₁₃ non-zero as favoured by the latest experimental data. We also comment on prospects to extend this idea to the quark sector.     

Experimental constraints on weak mixing angles in the six quark scheme

Experimental results on charm production by neutrinos and onB meson decays are used to derive bounds on the quark mixing anglesθ ₂ andθ ₃ in the six quark model of Kobayashi and Maskawa.     

Seasonal and energy dependence of solar neutrino vacuum oscillations

We make a global vacuum neutrino oscillation analysis of solar neutrino data, including the seasonal and energy dependence of the recent Super-Kamiokande 708-day results. The best fit parameters for ν_e oscillations to an active neutrino are δm²=4.42×10⁻¹⁰ eV², sin²2θ=0.93. The allowed mixing angle region is consistent with bi-maximal mixing of three neutrinos. Oscillations to a sterile neutrino are disfavored. Allowing an enhanced hep neutrino flux does not significantly alter the oscillation parameters.     

Global analysis of solar and atmospheric neutrino data

A global analysis of solar (including the recent SNO result), atmospheric, and reactor neutrino data is presented in terms of three-and four-neutrino oscillations. We first present the allowed regions of solar and atmospheric oscillation parameters assuming three-neutrino families, showing that in this framework it is possible to reconcile the two anomalies and providing an unified fit of all the observables at a time. Then, we consider scenarios where a sterile neutrino is added to the three standard ones and the mass spectra present two separate doublets. We evaluate the allowed active-sterile admixture in both solar and atmospheric oscillations, showing that, although the Super-Kamiokande data disfavor both the pure ν_μ→ν _s atmospheric channel and, in combination with SNO, the pure ν _e →ν _s solar channel, the result from the combined analysis still favors close-to-pure active and sterile oscillations and disfavors oscillations into a near-maximal active-sterile admixture.     

First results of the observation of <Superscript>7</Superscript>Be solar neutrinos with the BOREXINO detector

The results of a direct measurement of the counting rate for solar neutrinos from the electron-capture process on ⁷Be, ⁷Be(e ^?, ν _e )⁷Li(E _ν = 0.862 MeV), with the low-background scintillation detector BOREXINO are presented. This is the first ever real-time observation of a signal from solar neutrinos of energy below 1 MeV. The counting rate for monoenergetic beryllium neutrinos in the BOREXINO detector proved to be 47 ± 7 (stat.) ± 12 (syst.) counts/(day × 100 t), which is in agreement with the predictions of the standard solar model and the hypothesis of neutrino oscillations in matter with parameters in the LMA region.     

The effect of random matter density perturbations on the MSW solution to the solar neutrino problem

We consider the implications of solar matter density random noise upon resonant neutrino conversion. The evolution equation describing MSW-like conversion is derived in the framework of the Schrödinger approach. We study quantitatively the effect of such matter perturbations upon both large and small mixing angle MSW solutions to the solar neutrino problem. This is carried out both for the active-active v_e → v_μ,τ as well as active-sterile v_e → v_s conversion channels. We find that the small mixing MSW solution is much more stable (especially in Δm² than the large mixing solution. The possible existence of solar matter density noise at the few percent level could be tested at future solar neutrino experiments, especially Borexino.     

Universal 23 symmetry

The possible maximal mixing seen in the oscillations of atmospheric neutrinos has led to the postulate of μ–τ symmetry, which interchanges ν_μ and ν_τ. We argue that such a symmetry need not be special to neutrinos but can be extended to all fermions. The assumption that all fermion mass matrices are approximately invariant under the interchange of the second and the third generation fields is shown to be phenomenologically viable and has interesting consequences. In the quark sector, the smallness of V_ub and V_cb can be consequences of this approximate 2–3 symmetry. The same approximate symmetry can simultaneously lead to a large atmospheric mixing angle and can describe the leptonic mixing quite well. We identify two generic scenarios leading to this. One is based on the conventional type-I seesaw mechanism and the other follows from the type-II seesaw model. The latter requires a quasi-degenerate neutrino spectrum for obtaining large atmospheric neutrino mixing in the presence of an approximate μ–τ symmetry. PACS 12.15.Ef; 14.60.Pq; 11.30.Er; 11.30.Qc     

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.     

Status of neutrinoless double beta decay searches

Neutrinoless double beta decay is one of the most sensitive tools in non-accelerator particle physics to probe the regime of physics beyond the standard model. It can provide in fact fundamental informations on the character of neutrinos and their absolute mass scale. The present status of experiments searching for neutrinoless double-beta decay (ββ(0ν)) is reviewed and the most relevant results discussed. Phenomenological aspects of ββ(0ν) are introduced. Given the observation of neutrino oscillations and the present knowledge of neutrino masses and mixing parameters, a possibility to observe ββ(0ν) at a neutrino mass scale m _ν in the range 10–50 meV could actually exist. The achievement of the required experimental sensitivity is a real challenge faced by a number of new proposed projects. A review of the various proposed experiments in the context of their figure-of-merit parameters is given. The most important parameters contributing to the experimental sensitivity are finally outlined. A short discussion on nuclear matrix element calculations is also given.     

Neutrino masses and the scale of B-L violation

A systematic study of neutrino masses in models with local B-L symmetry is presented. The observed SU(4)_c violation in fermion masses, which is necessary to explain why m_e is not equal m_d, is related to the scale of B-L violation. An alternative approach uses renormalization group methods to determine this scale. The heaviest neutrino mass is predicted to be 0.1–50 eV in the case of four fermion generations. Two different generation patterns for neutrino masses are found, one predicting large mixing between ν_e and ν_μ (and eventually ν_τ) and the other predicting leptonic mixing angles of the same order as quark mixing angles.     

New results from the T2K neutrino oscillation experiment

The T2K experiment searches for the appearance of electron neutrinos in a muon neutrino beam. The rate of this process is sensitive to the neutrino mixing parameter θ ₁₃. Recent measurements that $\theta_{13} \ne 0$ imply that ν _μ → ν _e oscillations should be observable. Using all data through May 15, 2012 the T2K experiment has detected 10 candidate ν _e events, with an expected background for θ ₁₃?=?0 of 2.73±0.37 events. This 3.2σ excess of ν _e events is the strongest indication to date for appearance of electron neutrinos in a neutrino oscillation experiment, and for normal mass hierarchy and δ _CP ?=?0 yields $0.059 < \sin^2 2\theta_{13} < 0.164$ at the 68 % C.L.