New limits on radiative sterile neutrino decays from a search for single photons in neutrino interactions

It has been recently shown that excess events observed by the LSND and MiniBooNE neutrino experiments could be interpreted as a signal from the radiative decay of a heavy sterile neutrino _νh${\nu }_h$ produced in _νμ${\nu }_{\mu }$ neutral-current-like neutrino interactions. If the _νh${\nu }_h$ exist, it would be also produced by the _νμ${\nu }_{\mu }$ beam from the CERN SPS in the neutrino beam line shielding. The _νh${\nu }_h$?s would penetrate the shielding and be observed through the _νh→γν${\nu }_h\to \gamma \nu$ decay followed by the photon conversion into e⁺e⁻$e^{+}{e}^{-}$ pair in the active target of the NOMAD detector. The _νh${\nu }_h$?s could be also produced in the iron of the magnetic spectrometer of the CHORUS detector, located just in front of NOMAD. Considering these two sources of _νh${\nu }_h$?s we set new constraints on _νh${\nu }_h$ properties and exclude part of the LSND/MiniBooNE _νh${\nu }_h$ parameter space using bounds on single photons production in neutrino reactions recently reported by the NOMAD Collaboration. We find that broad bands in the parameter space are still open for more sensitive searches for the _νh${\nu }_h$ in future neutrino experiments.     

Effect of gluons on neutral-current interactions in deep inelastic neutrino scattering

The contribution of neutral spin-1 gluons to the deep inelastic neutral-current processesv(v)+N→v(v)+ hadrons is worked out in the parton model. Such a contribution violates Bjorken scaling strongly.     

Measurement of the neutrino mass splitting and flavor mixing by MINOS

Measurements of neutrino oscillations using the disappearance of muon neutrinos from the Fermilab NuMI neutrino beam as observed by the two MINOS detectors are reported. New analysis methods have been applied to an enlarged data sample from an exposure of 7.25×10(20) protons on target. A fit to neutrino oscillations yields values of |Δm(2)|=(2.32(-0.08)(+0.12))×10(-3) eV(2) for the atmospheric mass splitting and sin(2)(2θ)>0.90 (90% C.L.) for the mixing angle. Pure neutrino decay and quantum decoherence hypotheses are excluded at 7 and 9 standard deviations, respectively.     

Direct evidence for neutrino flavor transformation from neutral-current interactions in the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory

Observations of neutral-current nu interactions on deuterium in the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory are reported. Using the neutral current (NC), elastic scattering, and charged current reactions and assuming the standard 8B shape, the nu(e) component of the 8B solar flux is phis(e) = 1.76(+0.05)(-0.05)(stat)(+0.09)(-0.09)(syst) x 10(6) cm(-2) s(-1) for a kinetic energy threshold of 5 MeV. The non-nu(e) component is phi(mu)(tau) = 3.41(+0.45)(-0.45)(stat)(+0.48)(-0.45)(syst) x 10(6) cm(-2) s(-1), 5.3sigma greater than zero, providing strong evidence for solar nu(e) flavor transformation. The total flux measured with the NC reaction is phi(NC) = 5.09(+0.44)(-0.43)(stat)(+0.46)(-0.43)(syst) x 10(6) cm(-2) s(-1), consistent with solar models.     

Strong upper limits on sterile neutrino warm dark matter

Sterile neutrinos are attractive dark matter candidates. Their parameter space of mass and mixing angle has not yet been fully tested despite intensive efforts that exploit their gravitational clustering properties and radiative decays. We use the limits on gamma-ray line emission from the Galactic center region obtained with the SPI spectrometer on the INTEGRAL satellite to set new constraints, which improve on the earlier bounds on mixing by more than 2 orders of magnitude, and thus strongly restrict a wide and interesting range of models.     

Methods for neutral-current neutrino detection in the Sudbury neutrino observatory

The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory will permit a comparison of the rate of neutral-current neutrino interactions to charged-current interactions, which is a test of neutrino mixing and mass. The neutral-current process can be measured by: a) comparison of the rate for electron elastic scattering to the pure charged-current rate on deuterium, b) neutron capture on Cl ions added to the heavy water, and, c) neutron capture in an array of ³He-filled proportional counters. The design and construction of suitable proportional counters are described.     

Lepton mixing matrix in standard model extended by one sterile neutrino

We consider the simplest extension of the standard electroweak model by one sterile neutrino that allows for neutrino masses and mixing. We find that its leptonic sector contains much less free physical parameters than previously realized. In addition to the two neutrino masses, the lepton mixing matrix in charged current interactions involves (n-1) free physical mixing angles for n generations. The mixing matrix in neutral current interactions of neutrinos is completely fixed by the two masses. Both interactions conserve CP. We illustrate the phenomenological implications of the model by vacuum neutrino oscillations, tritium β decay and neutrinoless double β decay. It turns out that, due to the revealed specific structure in its mixing matrix, the model with any n generations cannot accommodate simultaneously the data by KamLAND, K2K and CHOOZ. PACS 14.60.Pq; 14.60.St; 23.40.-s     

Bounds on sterile neutrino mixing for cosmologically interesting mass range

This talk summarizes our recent work which studied the impact of resonant ν_e → ν_s and (ν_s is a sterile neutrino) conversions on supernova physics, under the assumption that the mass of the sterile state is in the few eV -cosmologically significant range.     

Constraining neutrino superluminality from searches for sterile neutrino decays

Superluminal neutrinos are expected to lose energy due to bremsstrahlung. It is dominated by e⁺e⁻$e^{+}{e}^{-}$-pair production if kinematically allowed. The same signature was used in searches for 3-body decays of hypothetical heavy sterile neutrinos. From the published analyses of these searches performed by CERN PS191 and CHARM experiments we set upper limits on the neutrino velocity in the energy range from 0.2 GeV to 280 GeV. Our limits are well below the neutrino velocity favored by the recent OPERA results. For energy-independent neutrino velocity the limits obtained in this Letter are stronger than those coming from ICARUS experiment and observations of Supernova SN1987a.     

Single-pion production in antineutrino-induced neutral-current interactions

Results are presented on antineutrino-induced processes in which a single π⁰or π^? is produced. The raw data come from analysis of film from Gargamelle filled with a propane-freon mixture. Comparison of the neutral-current production rates for π⁰and π^?, after correction for nuclear effects, indicates that pure isoscalar or pure isovector transitions are not favoured. The ratio of the neutral-to-charged-current single-π⁰ production rates is found to be compatible with the static model for Δ³³ resonance production in the framework of the Weinberg-Salam theory, yielding values for sin²θ_W in the range 0.15–0.52.     

Analysis of the neutral-current interaction in the inclusive neutrino reactions

We attempt a general phenomenological analysis of the neutral weak current in the inclusive neutrino reactions using the parton model as a tool. From the recently reported data on these processes we determine the strengthH of the neutral-current interaction as well as the amount of theVA interference. We find (H/G)²=0·54±0·06 whereG is the Fermi coupling constant and theVA interference contribution turns out to be 33±23%. We also discuss the comparison of the data with various models for the neutral hadronic current. An erratum to this article is available at .     

Determining horizontal symmetry from neutrino mixing

We argue that the best way to determine horizontal symmetry is from neutrino mixing and proceed to show that the only finite group capable of yielding the tribimaximal mixing for all Yukawa couplings is S4, or any group containing it. The method used is largely group theoretical, but it can be implemented by dynamical schemes in which the Higgs expectation values introduced to break S4 spontaneously are uniquely determined up to an unknown scale for each.     

Observation of muon neutrino disappearance with the MINOS detectors in the NuMI neutrino beam

This Letter reports results from the MINOS experiment based on its initial exposure to neutrinos from the Fermilab NuMI beam. The rates and energy spectra of charged current nu(mu) interactions are compared in two detectors located along the beam axis at distances of 1 and 735 km. With 1.27 x 10(20) 120 GeV protons incident on the NuMI target, 215 events with energies below 30 GeV are observed at the Far Detector, compared to an expectation of 336+/-14 events. The data are consistent with nu(mu) disappearance via oscillations with |Delta(m)2/32|=2.74 +0.44/-0.26 x10(-3)eV(2) and sin(2)(2theta(23))>0.87 (68% C.L.).     

Model-independent analysis of the neutral-current interaction in the inclusive neutrino reactions

On the basis of some general assumptions on the deep inelastic structure functions, such as scaling and chiral symmetry we determine the values of {(H _V ³)²+(H _A ³)²}+η{(H _V ⁰)²+(H _A ⁰)²} andH _V ³ H _A ³+ηH _V ⁰ H _A ⁰ whereH _V ^3,0 andH _A ^3,0 are the four coupling constants characterizing the hadronic neutral current andη is the ratio of the isoscalar to isovector structure functions. General expressions are given for the kinematical averages 〈v〉 and 〈Q ²〉 for the neutral-current reactions in terms of the coupling constants. This analysis does not depend on the validity of the quark-parton model.