A high-energy neutrino signature from supersymmetric relics

We compute the energy spectrum of high-energy (0.1–10 GeV) neutrinos produced by the annihilation of supersymmetric (SUSY) cold dark matter trapped in the sun. We compare this spectrum to the spectrum of atmospheric neutrinos and find that in the direction of the sun the solar flux of neutrinos can exceed the atmospheric background for neutrino energies E_ν 1 GeV, and are as much as a factor 30 above background for energies E_ν few GeV. We discuss these signatures for standard SUSY relics as well as for superstring relics.     

Can scalar neutrinos or massive Dirac neutrinos be the missing mass?

Scalar neutrinos and massive Dirac neutrinos in the mass range 2–20 GeV have been proposed as candidates to provide the dark matter in the halo of our galaxy. If so, the particles are captured inthe Earth with an efficiency of 10⁻¹⁰ − 10⁻⁷. For Dirac neutrinos more massive than about 9 GeV and scalar neutrinos more massive than abour 12 GeV, enough are captured to produce an observable neutrino flux at the surface of the Earth (∼ 10⁻² cm⁻² s⁻¹ for sneutrinos and ∼ 1.4 × 10⁻³ cm⁻² s⁻¹ for Dirac neutrinos), several orders of magnitude above atmospheric background and above what is observed. Hence stable scalar neutrinos of mass 12–20 GeV or Dirac neutrinos of mass 9–20 GeV cannot be the dominant component of the halo.     

Effective rank-five superstring models from CP3×CP3

We consider three-generation, rank-six superstring models based on the simplest known Calabi-Yau space. Assuming a breaking scale (to rank-five) M_B≳10¹⁶ GeV, as required by cosmology and other constraints, we describe the particle spectrum in a class of models in which the proton is stable and the neutrinos are massless. These models are effectively rank-five down to the weak scale O(100) GeV. We find that Higgs fields typically will have massess in excess of O(10⁶) GeV due to higher order non-renormalizable interactions, hence rendering the conventional spontaneous breakdown of the electroweak symmetries impossible.     

Search for a SM Higgs boson in dilepton plus missing transverse energy final state with the D??detector at {\sqrt s}{=}{1.96}?TeV

A search is presented for the Standard Model (SM) Higgs boson optimized in the decay channel H??W ^?+? W ^??, where both W bosons decay leptonically. The final state considered contains dileptons and missing transverse energy from the neutrinos. A multivariate analysis is used to suppress the background. No significant excess above the SM background has been observed and limits set on the Higgs boson production cross-section ? the branching ratio for m _H?= 115?C200?GeV are computed. Results using 8.1?fb^?1 of data are presented.     

Search for heavy sterile neutrinos in trileptons at the LHC

We present a search strategy for both Dirac and Majorana sterile neutrinos from the purely leptonic decays of W~±→e~±e~±μ~?ν and μ~±μ~± e~?ν at the 14 TeV LHC. The discovery and exclusion limits for sterile neutrinos are shown using both the Cut-and-Count(CC) and Multi-Variate Analysis(MVA) methods. We also discriminate between Dirac and Majorana sterile neutrinos by exploiting a set of kinematic observables which differ between the Dirac and Majorana cases. We find that the MVA method, compared to the more common CC method, can greatly enhance the discovery and discrimination limits. Two benchmark points with sterile neutrino mass m N =20 GeV and 50 GeV are tested. For an integrated luminosity of 3000 fb~(-1), sterile neutrinos can be found with 5σ significance if heavy-to-light neutrino mixings |U_(Ne)|~2~|U_(Nμ)|~2~10~(-6), while Majorana vs. Dirac discrimination can be reached if at least one of the mixings is of order 10~(-5).     

A search for decays of heavy neutrinos in the mass range 0.5–2.8 GeV

A search for decays of heavy neutrinos was conducted by the CHARM Collaboration in a prompt neutrino beam produced by dumping 400 GeV protons in a Cu target, and in the CERN wide-band neutrino beam produced by 400 GeV primary protons. No candidate event was found. In the beam-dump experiment heavy neutrinos have been assumed to be produced by mixing in charmed D meson decays. Neutrinos decaying into e⁺e⁻v_e, μ⁺e⁻v_μ, and μ⁺μ⁻v_μ were searched for. Limits of |U_ei|², |U_μi|² < 10⁻⁷ were obtained for neutrino masses around 1.5 GeV. In the wide-band experiment heavy neutrinos were assumed to be produced by neutral-current neutrino interactions in the CHARM calorimeter. Here a search was made for neutrinos decaying into a μ and hadrons. This experiment is sensitive to decays of neutrinos with mass in the range 0.5–2.8 GeV with limits of |U_μi|² < 3 × 10⁻⁴ for masses around 2.5 GeV. These measurements extend our previous results in the mass range 10–400 MeV.     

Testing the Lorentz structure of the charged weak current in τ-decays

We review the current experimental situation on the determination of the Lorentz structure of the charged weak current in τ decays. We propose a method to extent these studies to decays of τ leptons to righthanded daughter leptons which are forbidden in the standard model. We reanalyse the available data in the framework of specific models and derive limits on the mass of charged Higgs bosons of m(H ^±) > 1.5 tan β GeV at 90 % c.l. and on righthanded W-bosons of m(W ₂) > 230 GeV at 90 % c.l., valid if the righthanded neutrinos associated with it are light compared to the τ.     

Search for heavy isosinglet neutrinos in e+e− annihilation at 130

《Physics letters. [Part B]》1999,461(4):397-404

Is there an excess of electron neutrinos in the atmospheric flux?

Summary The background produced by isolated neutrons in Cherenkov detectors studying the atmospheric neutrinos is discussed. The neutrons are generated in nuclear showers initiated by muons in the rock surrounding the detectors. It is shown that, taking into account the detection of π⁰ events from reactions of nA→π⁰X, which look likev _e detection, results in an observedI(v _μ)/I(v _e) ratio close to the expected one for the energy range 0.2–5 GeV.     

Searches for exotic baryons of isospin 5/2 that consist of light quarks

The status of isospin-5/2 exotic baryons consisting of light-quarks is considered. A brief survey of theoretical studies devoted to them is given. Experimental searches for exotic baryons are traced from the first publication on the subject to the present day. Among possible candidates for an exotic baryon, the pentaquark baryon E _{5/2 5/2} of mass M ≈ 1.44 GeV/c ² and width Γ < 0.05 GeV/c ² is the most probable. This state was recorded in six studies at five different facilities. Among these, there are two studies where the excess of the signal above the background is more than five standard deviations. The possibility of further searches for exotic baryons in various reactions is discussed.     

Monochromatic neutrinos from the annihilation of fourth-generation massive stable neutrinos in the Sun and in the Earth

The accumulation of relic fourth-generation heavy neutrinos (of mass 50 GeV) in the Earth and the Sun, which is followed by their annihilation, is considered. The most conservative estimates of the fluxes of monochromatic electron, muon, and tau neutrinos and antineutrinos of energy 50 GeV from the annihilation of heavy neutrinos are 4.1×10^?6 cm^?2 s^?1 from Earth’s core and 1.1×10^?7 cm^?2 s^?1 from Sun’s core, whence it follows that an analysis of data from underground neutrino observatories may furnish additional information about the existence of fourth-generation neutrinos. It is shown that, because of kinetic equilibrium between the arrival of cosmic neutrinos and their annihilation, the existence of new U(1) gauge interaction of fourth-generation neutrinos has virtually no effect on the estimates of the annihilation fluxes of electron, muon, and tau neutrinos.     

Measurement of the neutral to charged current cross section ratio in neutrino and antineutrino interactions

We report on the analysis of inclusive neutral current events produced in neutrino and antineutrino narrow band beams. We find for incident neutrino energies in the range 12–200 GeV and for hadron energies above 12 GeV a neutral to charged current cross-section ratio of R_v = 0.293 ± 0.010 for incident neutrinos, and $\text{R}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>v</mtext>}}\text{= 0.35 ± 0.03}$ for antineutrinos. These ratios are consistent with the Weinberg-Salam model, with sin²θ_w = 0.24 ± 0.02.     

Dark matter constraints from an observation of dSphs and the LMC with the Baikal NT200

We have analyzed the neutrino events recoded in the deep-water neutrino experiment NT200 in Lake Baikal in five years of observations toward dark dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) in the southern hemisphere and the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). This analysis completes the series of works based on NT200 data in the search for a dark matter annihilation signal in astrophysical objects. We have found no significant excess in the number of observed events relative to the expected background from atmospheric neutrinos in all tested directions, in 22 dSphs and the LMC. For a sample of five selected dwarf galaxies we have performed a joint analysis of the data by the maximum likelihood method. We have obtained a correspondence of the observational data to the null hypothesis about the presence of only background events and established 90% confidence-level upper limits for the annihilation cross sections of dark matter particles with a mass from 30 GeV to 10 TeV in several annihilation channels both in the joint analysis of the selected sample of galaxies and in the analysis toward the LMC. The strongest constraints at a level of 7 × 10^–21 cm³ s^–1 have been obtained for the direction toward the LMC in the channel of annihilation into a pair of neutrinos.     

Neutrino mass spectrum with vμ → vs oscillations of atmospheric neutrinos

We consider the “standard” spectrum of the active neutrinos (characterized by strong mass hierarchy and small mixing) with additional sterile neutrino, v_s. The sterile neutrino mixes strongly with the muon neutrino, so that v_μ ↔ v_s oscillations solve the atmospheric neutrino problem. We show that the parametric enhancement of the v_μ ↔ v_s oscillations occurs for the high energy atmospheric neutrinos which cross the core of the Earth. This can be relevant for the anomaly observed by the MACRO experiment. Solar neutrinos are converted both to v_μand v_s. The heaviest neutrino (≈ v_τ) may compose the hot dark matter of the Universe. The phenomenology of this scenario is elaborated and crucial experimental signatures are identified. We also discuss properties of the underlying neutrino mass matrix. 1998 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.     

New answer to the solar neutrino problem

We suggest a new answer to the problem of the solar neutrinos: a neutrino-photon interaction that would cause the neutrinos to disappear before they leave the sun or make them lose energy towards detection thresholds. We calculate the available energy in the system of the centre of mass, and show that the photons may be endowed with a pseudo-cross-section in the system of the sun. Under the assumption of an absorption, made to simplify the neutrino transport calculation, the chlorine experiment yields:σ _a =1.8( _−1.0 ^+0.7 )*10⁻⁹ barn, which is close tog _β/(ℏc)=4·49^*10⁻⁹ barn. The escape probability is substantially larger for the gallium neutrinos than for the chlorine neutrinos. Thermal radiation in the core of a supernova is suppressed by electrical conductivity, therefore the neutrinos from SN1987A could escape; they interacted with the photon piston in the outer layers of the supernova and the interaction has to be a scattering. The cosmological implications of a neutrino-photon interaction are discussed; Hubble’s constant may have to be modified. The case of an elastic scattering between neutrino and photon is discussed in more detail. An erratum to this article is available at .     

Latest results on atmospheric neutrinos from Soudan 2 and the status of MINOS

In this paper, the latest results on atmospheric neutrinos from the Soudan 2 iron calorimeter experiment are presented. The flavor ratio of ratios for a 4.2 fiducial kiloton year exposure of Soudan 2 is measured to be 0.66±0.11(stat.)±0.06(syst.). The region of parameter space in the oscillation mode ν_μ → ν_τ allowed from a L/E analysis of Soudan 2 data is shown to be consistent with the results from the Super-Kamiokande experiment. The forthcoming long baseline experiment, MINOS, is also described. The current status of the experiment and its projected parameter measurement capabilities are discussed.     

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.     

Cross sections for charged current ν and\bar v interactions in the energy range 10 to 50 GeV

Charged-current neutrino and antineutrino interaction cross sections have been measured in the energy range 10 to 50 GeV using BEBC filled with a neon-hydrogen mixture. At these energies, σ/E was measured to be (0.73±0.08) 10^?38 cm²/GeV per nucleon for neutrinos and (0.32±0.06) 10^?38 cm²/GeV per nucleon for antineutrinos.     

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.     

Neutrino backgrounds in the Kolar Gold Field nucleon decay experiment

The neutrino events recorded in the Kolar Gold Field Nucleon Decay detector are analysed here. It is shown that there is good agreement between the observations and the estimates based on the intensities of atmospheric neutrinos and interaction cross-sections of neutrinos available from accelerator experiments. In the context of the search for proton decay, we show that the low energy (<2 GeV) neutrino events, which would provide the main background, are suppressed at thekgf site since it is situated near geomagnetic equator, where the geomagnetic cut-off rigidities are high. A comparison of the predicted characteristics ofv-induced events with thekgf observations shows that, within the statistical accuracy of the present data, the signal due to nucleon decay stands out distinctly within thev-induced background.