Search for ν<Subscript>μ</Subscript> → ν<Subscript>τ</Subscript> oscillations in appearance mode in the OPERA experiment

The OPERA experiment at the underground Gran Sasso Laboratory (LNGS) has to perform the first detection of neutrino oscillations in appearance mode through the direct observation of ν_μ → ν_τ. The apparatus consists of a lead/emulsion-film target complemented by electronic detectors. It is placed in the high-energy, long-baseline CERN neutrino beam (CNGS) 730 km away from the neutrino source. Runs with CNGS neutrinos were successfully carried out in 2008–2009 with the first candidate event ν_μ → gv_τ recently detected.     

The OPERA experiment

The aim of the OPERA experiment is to provide unambiguous evidence for the ν _μ ↔ ν _τ oscillation by looking at the appearance of ν _τ in a pure ν _μ beam. This oscillation will be sought in the region of the oscillation parameters indicated by the atmospheric neutrino results. The experiment is part of the CNGS (CERN Neutrino beam to Gran Sasso) project. The ν μ beam produced at CERN will be sent towards the Gran Sasso underground laboratory, where the OPERA detector is under construction. The detector, the physics potential, and performance for neutrino oscillation studies including the subleading ν _μ ↔ ν _ε search are presented. The text was submitted by the author in English.     

Flavor symmetry L μ-L τ and quasidegenerate neutrinos

Current data implies three simple forms of the neutrino mass matrix, each corresponding to the conservation of a nonstandard lepton charge. While models based on L _e and L _e-L _μ-L _τ are well known, little attention has been paid to L _μ-L _τ. A low-energy mass matrix conserving L _μ-L _τ implies quasidegenerate light neutrinos. Moreover, it is μ-τ symmetric and therefore (in contrast to L _e and L _e-L _μ-L _τ) automatically predicts maximal atmospheric neutrino mixing and zero U _e3. A seesaw model based on L _μ-L _τ is investigated and testable predictions for the neutrino mixing observables are given. Renormalization group running below and in between the seesaw scales is taken into account in our analysis, both numerically and analytically. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

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     

Neutrino mixing and masses in a left–right model with mirror fermions

In the framework of a left–right model containing mirror fermions with gauge group SU(3) _C ⊗SU(2) _L ⊗SU(2) _R ⊗U(1) _Y′, we estimate the neutrino masses, which are found to be consistent with their experimental bounds and hierarchy. We evaluate the decay rates of the Lepton Flavor Violation (LFV) processes μ→eγ, τ→μγ and τ→eγ. We obtain upper limits for the flavor-changing branching ratios in agreement with their present experimental bounds. We also estimate the decay rates of heavy Majorana neutrinos in the channels N→W ^± l ^∓, N→Zν _l and N→Hν _l , which are roughly equal for large values of the heavy neutrino mass. Starting from the most general Majorana neutrino mass matrix, the smallness of active neutrino masses turns out from the interplay of the hierarchy of the involved scales and the double application of seesaw mechanism. An appropriate parameterization on the structure of the neutrino mass matrix imposing a symmetric mixing of electron neutrino with muon and tau neutrinos leads to tri-bimaximal mixing matrix for light neutrinos.     

Remarks to the standard scheme (theory) of neutrino oscillations. Corrected scheme of neutrino oscillations

In the standard theory of neutrino oscillations, it is supposed that physically observed neutrino states ν _e , ν_μ, ν_τ, have no definite masses, that they are initially produced as a mixture of the ν₁, ν₂, ν₃ neutrino states (i.e., they are produced as a wave packet), and that neutrino oscillations are the real ones. Then, this wave packet must decompose at a definite distance into constituent parts and neutrino oscillations must disappear. It was shown that these suppositions lead to violation of the law of energy and momentum conservation. An alternative scheme of neutrino oscillations obtained within the framework of particle physics has been considered, where the above mentioned shortcomings are absent, the oscillations of neutrinos with equal masses are the real ones, and the oscillations of neutrinos with different masses are the virtual ones. Expressions for probabilities of neutrino transitions (oscillations) in the alternative (corrected) scheme are given. The text was submitted by the author in English.     

Sterile neutrino in a minimal three-generation see-saw model

We investigate symmetries in Dirac and Majorana mass matrices of neutrinos in a three-generation scenario. We show that if we invokeL _e +L _μ-L _τ x S _2R symmetry, one combination of right-handed neutrino states remains massless which can be interpreted as a sterile neutrino. Next we consider a SU2_L x U(1)_y x U(l)_R gauge model and show how higher-dimensional operators can induce mixing between left- and right-handed states which explains solar, atmospheric and LSND experimental results.     

C2GT: intercepting CERN neutrinos to Gran Sasso in the Gulf of Taranto to measure θ13

Today’s greatest challenge in accelerator-based neutrino physics is to measure the mixing angle θ₁₃ which is known to be much smaller than the solar mixing angle θ₁₂ and the atmospheric mixing angle θ₂₃. A non-zero value of the angle θ₁₃ is a prerequisite for observing CP violation in neutrino mixing. In this paper, we discuss a deep-sea neutrino experiment with 1.5 Mt fiducial target mass in the Gulf of Taranto with the prime objective of measuring θ₁₃. The detector is exposed to the CERN neutrino beam to Gran Sasso in off-axis geometry. Monochromatic muon neutrinos of ≈ 800 MeV energy are the dominant beam component. Neutrinos are detected through quasi-elastic, charged-current reactions in sea water; electrons and muons are detected in a large-surface, ring-imaging Cherenkov detector. The profile of the seabed in the Gulf of Taranto allows for a moveable experiment at variable distances from CERN, starting at 1100 km. From the oscillatory pattern of the disappearance of muon neutrinos, the experiment will measure sin²θ₂₃ and especially Δm² ₂₃ with high precision. The appearance of electron neutrinos will be observed with a sensitivity to P(ν_μ→ν_e) as small as 0.0035 (90% CL) and sin²θ₁₃ as small as 0.0019 (90% CL; for a CP phase angle δ=0° and for normal neutrino mass hierarchy).     

Simulation of tau neutrino interaction in an emulsion track detector

Simulation of the interactions between tau neutrinos ν_τ and the material of the emulsion track detector using Geant4 software is described. The purpose of the work is to generate artificial events and to estimate, on their basis, the reconstruction accuracy for the geometric parameters (vertex coordinates, impact parameters, and track kink angles) and distributions of these parameters used in the selection criteria of the OPERA experiment.     

First CNGS events detected by LVD

The CERN Neutrino to Gran Sasso (CNGS) project aims to produce a high energy, wide band ν_μ beam at CERN and send it toward the INFN Gran Sasso National Laboratory (LNGS), 732 km away. Its main goal is the observation of the ν_τ appearance, through neutrino flavour oscillation. The beam started its operation in August 2006 for about 12 days: a total amount of 7.6×10¹⁷ protons were delivered to the target. The LVD detector, installed in hall A of the LNGS and mainly dedicated to the study of supernova neutrinos, was fully operating during the whole CNGS running time. A total number of 569 events were detected in coincidence with the beam spill time. This is in good agreement with the expected number of events from Monte Carlo simulations. PACS 14.60.Pq; 29.27.Fh; 29.40.Mc; 95.55.Vj     

What can we learn from high precision measurements of neutrino mixing angles?

Many experiments are being planned to measure the neutrino mixing angles more precisely. In this note, the theoretical significance of a high precision measurement of these parameters is discussed. It is emphasized that they can provide crucial information about different ways to understand the origin of large atmospheric neutrino mixing and move us closer towards determining the neutrino mass matrix. They may also be able to throw light on the question of lepton-quark unification as well as the existence of any leptonic symmetries. For instance if exact μ↔ τ symmetry in the neutrino mass matrix is assumed to be the reason for maximalv _μ-v_gt mixing, one gets θ₁₃ = 0 and {ie1295-01} can provide information about the way the μ↔ τ symmetry breaking manifests in the case of normal hierarchy.     

Signal of new physics and chemical composition of matter in core-crossing neutrinos

We consider the non-standard matter effect in flavor conversion of neutrinos crossing the core of the Earth. We show that oscillations of core-crossing neutrinos with E≳0.5 GeV can well be described by first order perturbation theory. We show that due to the non-standard matter effect a varying chemical composition in the Earth can modify the neutrino flavor conversion by 100%. The effects of CP violating phases in non-standard neutral current interactions are emphasized in particular.     

中微子非标准相互作用对大亚湾实验的影响

大亚湾中微子实验的目标是测量中微子混合矩阵中的最小混合角θ13.如果考虑中微子的非标准相互作用(NSIs),中微子的振荡概率公式要做相应的改写,其效应将和θ13纠缠在一起,从而降低了实验对θ13的敏感度(sensitivity).讨论了在NSIs存在的情况下大亚湾实验对θ13的敏感度,发现这个实验不可能同时测量出NSIs和θ13的值.由于当θ13=0时反应堆产生的反中微子将没有振荡现象(NSIs的效应也将消失),如果大亚湾实验测量到了中微子振荡效应,那将表明θ13≠0;但是,由于非零的θ13的效应和NSIs的效应有可能抵消而导致中微子没有振荡.如果大亚湾实验没有测量到中微子振荡,不能排除非零的θ13.     

Flavor structure of the electroweak spectra of monoenergetic solar neutrinos scattered by electron

Electroweak and electromagnetic contributions to the spectrum of beryllium solar neutrinos scattered by an electron are investigated. The flavor structure of the electroweak spectrum with the content of electron neutrinos and admixture components ν _μ and ν _τ is analyzed.     

Search for νμ and ντ supernova neutrinos with massive liquid-scintillation detectors

Summary In this paper we have estimated the sensitivity of a large-mass liquid-scintillation detector to search for supernova neutrinos of different flavours. Events produced by ν_μ and ν_τ interactions can be identified by looking at the distorsion in the neutrino energy spectrum. We have shown here that, overlapped to the main energy distribution produced by interactions with protons a peak at 15.11 MeV (due to the de-excitation of¹²C^* nuclei excited by neutral-current neutrino interactions) gives a possible signature of these neutrino flavours. Due to the relevance of its scientific content, this paper has been given priority by the Journal Direction.     

On Superluminal Particles and the Extended Relativity Theories

Superluminal particles are studied within the framework of the Extended Relativity theory in Clifford spaces (C-spaces). In the simplest scenario, it is found that it is the contribution of the Clifford scalar component π of the poly-vector-valued momentum which is responsible for the superluminal behavior in ordinary spacetime due to the fact that the effective mass is imaginary (tachyonic). However, from the point of view of C-space, there is no superluminal (tachyonic) behavior because the true physical mass still obeys M ²>0. Therefore, there are no violations of the Clifford-extended Lorentz invariance and the extended Relativity principle in C-spaces. It is also explained why the charged muons (leptons) are subluminal while its chargeless neutrinos may admit superluminal propagation. A Born’s Reciprocal Relativity theory in Phase Spaces leads to modified dispersion relations involving both coordinates and momenta, and whose truncations furnish Lorentz-violating dispersion relations which appear in Finsler Geometry, rainbow-metrics models and Double (deformed) Special Relativity. These models also admit superluminal particles. A numerical analysis based on the recent OPERA experimental findings on alleged superluminal muon neutrinos is made. For the average muon neutrino energy of 17 GeV, we find a value for the magnitude that, coincidentally, is close to the mass of the muon m _μ =105.7 MeV.     

On the flavor composition of the solar <Superscript>7</Superscript>Be neutrino

The flavor composition of the solar beryllium neutrino was analyzed using schemes that include the new (heavy) neutrino (ν₄) at a negligible angle of mixing with the light partners ν _e , ν_μ, and ν_τ.     

Relaxation phenomena of polar non-polar liquid mixtures under low and high frequency electric field

Simultaneous calculation of the dipole moment μ_j and the relaxation time τ_j of a certain number of non-spherical rigid aliphatic polar liquid molecules (j) in non-polar solvents (i) under 9.8 GHz electric field is possible from real ε′_ij and imaginary ε″_ij parts of the complex relative permittivity ε*_ij. The low frequency and infinite frequency permittivities ε_0ij and ε_∞ij measured by Purohitet al [1,2] and Srivastava and Srivastava [3] at 25, 35 and 30°C respectively are used to obtain static μ_s. The ratio of the individual slopes of imaginary σ″_ij and real σ′_ij parts of high frequency (hf) complex conductivity σ*_ij with weight fractionsw _jatw _j → 0 and the slopes of σ″_ij— σ′_ij curves for differentw _js [4] are employed to obtain τ_js. The former method is better in comparison to the existing one as it eliminates polar-polar interaction. The hf μ_js in Coulomb metre (C m) when compared with static and reported μs indicate that μ_s s favour the monomer formations which combine to form dimers in the hf electric field. The comparison among μs shows that a part of the molecule is rotating under X-band electric field [5]. The theoretical μ_theos from available bond angles and bond moments of the substituent polar groups attached to the parent molecules differ from the measured μ_js and μs to establish the possible existence of mesomeric, inductive and electromeric effects in polar liquid molecules.     

Results from Super-Kamiokande and K2K

Results from Super-Kamiokande-I’s entire 1496 live days of solar neutrino data are presented, including the absolute flux, energy spectrum, zenith angle (day/night) and seasonal variation. The possibility of MSW and vacuum oscillations is discussed in light of these results. Results from the first 1289 days of Super-K-I’s atmospheric neutrino analysis are also presented, including the evidence for ν_μ →ν _τ oscillations, against ν_μ → ν_sterile oscillations, and the current limits on proton decay. Finally, results based on 56 × 10¹⁹ protons on target are given for the K2K long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment.     

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.