Phenomenology of neutrino physics in the Kaluza-Klein theories of low scale gravity

We discuss the phenomenological consequences of theories which describe sterile neutrinos in large extra dimensions. We show that the Kaluza-Klein tower of the singlet neutrinos, albeit tiny individual contribution in electroweak processes, act cumulatively, giving rise to non-universality of the weak interactions of the light neutrinos and to flavour-violating radiative processes. Owing to these non-decoupling effects of th Kaluza--Klein neutrinos, we derive strong constraints on the parameters of the theory that originates from the non-observation of flavour-violating and universality-breaking phenomena. In this theory we propose a four-neutrino model which can reconcile the existing data coming from underground experiments in terms of neutrino oscillations, together with the hint from the LSND experiment and a possible neutrino contribution to the hot dark matter of the Universe.Comment: 5 pages, Talk given at the EuroConference on Frontiers in Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, San Feliu de Guixols, Spain, 30 September - 5 October, 200

Transition Radiation by Neutrinos

We calculate the transition radiation process $\nu \to \nu \gamma$ at an interface of two media. The neutrinos are taken to be with only standard-model couplings. The medium fulfills the dual purpose of inducing an effective neutrino-photon vertex and of modifying the photon dispersion relation. The transition radiation occurs when at least one of those quantities have different values in different media. The neutrino mass is ignored due to its negligible contribution. We present a result for the probability of the transition radiation which is both accurate and analytic. For $E_\nu =1$ MeV neutrino crossing polyethylene-vacuum interface the transition radiation probability is about $10^{-39}$ and the energy intensity is about $10^{-34}$ eV. At the surface of the neutron stars the transition radiation probability may be $\sim 10^{-20}$. Our result on three orders of magnitude is larger than the results of previous calculations

An accurate analytic description of neutrino oscillations in matter

A simple closed-form analytic expression for the probability of two-flavour neutrino oscillations in a matter with an arbitrary density profile is derived. Our formula is based on a perturbative expansion and allows an easy calculation of higher order corrections. The expansion parameter is small when the density changes relatively slowly along the neutrino path and/or neutrino energy is not very close to the Mikheyev-Smirnov-Wolfenstein (MSW) resonance energy. Our approximation is not equivalent to the adiabatic approximation and actually goes beyond it. We demonstrate the validity of our results using a few model density profiles, including the PREM density profile of the Earth. It is shown that by combining the results obtained from the expansions valid below and above the MSW resonance one can obtain a very good description of neutrino oscillations in matter in the entire energy range, including the resonance region.Comment: 16 pages,6 figure

The electromagnetic vertex of neutrinos in an electron background and a magnetic field

We study the electromagnetic vertex function of a neutrino that propagates in an electron background in the presence of a static magnetic field. The structure of the vertex function under the stated conditions is determined and it is written down in terms of a minimal and complete set of tensors. The one-loop expressions for all the form factors is given, up to terms that are linear in the magnetic field, and the approximate integral formulas that hold in the long wavelength limit are obtained. We discuss the physical interpretation of some of the form factors and their relation with the concept of the neutrino induced charge. The neutrino acquires a longitudinal and a transverse charge, due to the fact that the form factors depend on the transverse and longitudinal components of the photon momentum independently. We compute those form factors explicitly in various limiting cases and find that the longitudinal and transverse charge are the same for the case of a non-relativistic electron gas, but not otherwise.Comment: 18 pages. Revtex4, axodra

Geotomography with solar and supernova neutrinos

We show how by studying the Earth matter effect on oscillations of solar and supernova neutrinos inside the Earth one can in principle reconstruct the electron number density profile of the Earth. A direct inversion of the oscillation problem is possible due to the existence of a very simple analytic formula for the Earth matter effect on oscillations of solar and supernova neutrinos. From the point of view of the Earth tomography, these oscillations have a number of advantages over the oscillations of the accelerator or atmospheric neutrinos, which stem from the fact that solar and supernova neutrinos are coming to the Earth as mass eigenstates rather than flavour eigenstates. In particular, this allows reconstruction of density profiles even over relatively short neutrino path lengths in the Earth, and also of asymmetric profiles. We study the requirements that future experiments must meet to achieve a given accuracy of the tomography of the Earth.Comment: 35 pages, 7 figures; minor textual changes in section

Cold Plus Hot Dark Matter Cosmology in the Light of Solar and Atmospheric Neutrino Oscillations

We explore the implications of possible neutrino oscillations, as indicated by the solar and atmospheric neutrino experiments, for the cold plus hot dark matter scenario of large scale structure formation. We find that there are essentially three distinct schemes that can accommodate the oscillation data and which also allow for dark matter neutrinos. These include (i) three nearly degenerate (in mass) neutrinos, (ii) non-degenerate masses with $\nu_\tau$ in the eV range, and (iii) nearly degenerate $\nu_\mu-\nu_\tau$ pair (in the eV range), with the additional possibility that the electron neutrino is cosmologically significant. The last two schemes invoke a `sterile' neutrino which is light (< or ~ eV). We discuss the implications of these schemes for $\bar{\nu}_\mu - \bar{\nu}_e$ and $\nu_\mu - \nu_\tau$ oscillation, and find that scheme (ii) in particular, predicts them to be in the observable range. As far as structure formation is concerned, we compare the one neutrino flavor case with a variety of other possibilities, including two and three degenerate neutrino flavors. We show, both analytically and numerically, the effects of these neutrino mass scenarios on the amplitude of cosmological density fluctuations. With a Hubble constant of 50 km s$^{-1}$ Mpc$^{-1}$, a spectral index of unity, and $\Omega_{baryon} = 0.05$, the two and three flavor scenarios fit the observational data marginally better than the single flavor scheme. However, taking account of the uncertainties in these parameters, we show that it is premature to pick a clear winner.Comment: 1 LaTEX file plus 1 uuencoded Z-compressed tar file with 3 postscript figure

Attenuation effect and neutrino oscillation tomography

The attenuation effect is the effect of weakening contributions to the oscillation signal from remote structures of the matter density profile. The effect is a consequence of integration over the neutrino energy within the energy resolution interval. Structures of a density profile situated at distances larger than the attenuation length, λatt, are not “seen” at the level ε≡2EV/Δm2, where V is the matter potential. We show that the origins of attenuation are (i) the averaging of oscillations in certain layer(s) of matter, (ii) the smallness of the matter effect: ε≪1, and (iii) the specific initial and final states on neutrinos. We elaborate on the graphic description of the attenuation that allows us to compute explicitly the effects in the ε2 order for various density profiles and oscillation channels. The attenuation in the case of partial averaging is described. The effect is crucial for the interpretation of oscillation data and for the oscillation tomography of the Earth with low energy (solar, supernova, atmospheric, etc.) neutrinos.Attenuation effect is the effect of weakening of contributions to the oscillation signal from remote structures of matter density profile. The effect is a consequence of integration over the neutrino energy within the energy resolution interval. Structures of a density profile situated at distances larger than the attenuation length, $\lambda_{att}$, are not "seen". We show that the origins of attenuation are (i) averaging of oscillations in certain layer(s) of matter, (ii) smallness of matter effect: $\epsilon \equiv 2EV/\Delta m^2 \ll 1$, where $V$ is the matter potential, and (iii) specific initial and final states on neutrinos. We elaborate on the graphic description of the attenuation which allows us to compute explicitly the effects in the $\epsilon^2$ order for various density profiles and oscillation channels. The attenuation in the case of partial averaging is described. The effect is crucial for interpretation of oscillation data and for the oscillation tomography of the Earth with low energy (solar, supernova, atmospheric, {\it etc.}) neutrinos