452 research outputs found
Unveiling Neutrino Mixing and Leptonic CP Violation
We review the present understanding of neutrino masses and mixings,
discussing what are the unknowns in the three family oscillation scenario.
Despite the anticipated success coming from the planned long baseline neutrino
experiments in unraveling the leptonic mixing sector, there are two important
unknowns which may remain obscure: the mixing angle and the
CP-phase . The measurement of these two parameters has led us to
consider the combination of superbeams and neutrino factories as the key to
unveil the neutrino oscillation picture.Comment: Invited brief review, 18 pages, 6 figure
Encapsulated droplet interface bilayers as a platform for high-throughput membrane studies
Whilst it is highly desirable to produce artificial lipid bilayer arrays allowing for systematic high-content screening of membrane conditions, it remains a challenge due to the combined requirements of scaled membrane production, simple measurement access, and independent control over individual bilayer experimental conditions. Here, droplet bilayers encapsulated within a hydrogel shell are output individually into multi-well plates for simple, arrayed quantitative measurements. The afforded experimental throughput is used to conduct a 2D concentration screen characterising the synergistic pore-forming peptides Magainin2 and PGLa. Maximal enhanced activity is revealed at equimolar peptide concentrations via a membrane dye leakage assay, a finding consistent with models proposed from NMR data. The versatility of the platform is demonstrated by performing in situ electrophysiology, revealing low conductance pore activity (∼15 to 20 pA with 4.5 pA sub-states). In conclusion, this array platform addresses the aforementioned challenges and provides new and flexible opportunities for high-throughput membrane studies. Furthermore, the ability to engineer droplet networks within each construct paves the way for “lab-in-a-capsule” approaches accommodating multiple assays per construct and allowing for communicative reaction pathways
Is there a Jordan geometry underlying quantum physics?
There have been several propositions for a geometric and essentially
non-linear formulation of quantum mechanics. From a purely mathematical point
of view, the point of view of Jordan algebra theory might give new strength to
such approaches: there is a ``Jordan geometry'' belonging to the Jordan part of
the algebra of observables, in the same way as Lie groups belong to the Lie
part. Both the Lie geometry and the Jordan geometry are well-adapted to
describe certain features of quantum theory. We concentrate here on the
mathematical description of the Jordan geometry and raise some questions
concerning possible relations with foundational issues of quantum theory.Comment: 30 page
Precision on leptonic mixing parameters at future neutrino oscillation experiments
We perform a comparison of the different future neutrino oscillation
experiments based on the achievable precision in the determination of the
fundamental parameters theta_{13} and the CP phase, delta, assuming that
theta_{13} is in the range indicated by the recent Daya Bay measurement. We
study the non-trivial dependence of the error on delta on its true value. When
matter effects are small, the largest error is found at the points where CP
violation is maximal, and the smallest at the CP conserving points. The
situation is different when matter effects are sizable. As a result of this
effect, the comparison of the physics reach of different experiments on the
basis of the CP discovery potential, as usually done, can be misleading. We
have compared various proposed super-beam, beta-beam and neutrino factory
setups on the basis of the relative precision of theta_{13} and the error on
delta. Neutrino factories, both high-energy or low-energy, outperform
alternative beam technologies. An ultimate precision on theta_{13} below 3% and
an error on delta of < 7^{\circ} at 1 sigma (1 d.o.f.) can be obtained at a
neutrino factory.Comment: Minor changes, matches version accepted in JHEP. 30 pages, 9 figure
Potential of optimized NOvA for large theta(13) & combined performance with a LArTPC & T2K
NOvA experiment has reoptimized its event selection criteria in light of the
recently measured moderately large value of theta(13). We study the improvement
in the sensitivity to the neutrino mass hierarchy and to leptonic CP violation
due to these new features. For favourable values of deltacp, NOvA sensitivity
to mass hierarchy and leptonic CP violation is increased by 20%. Addition of 5
years of neutrino data from T2K to NOvA more than doubles the range of deltacp
for which the leptonic CP violation can be discovered, compared to stand alone
NOvA. But for unfavourable values of deltacp, the combination of NOvA and T2K
are not enough to provide even a 90% C.L. hint of hierarchy discovery.
Therefore, we further explore the improvement in the hierarchy and CP violation
sensitivities due to the addition of a 10 kt liquid argon detector placed close
to NOvA site. The capabilities of such a detector are equivalent to those of
NOvA in all respects. We find that combined data from 10 kt liquid argon
detector (3 years of nu + 3 years of nubar run), NOvA (6 years of nu + 6 years
of nubar run) and T2K (5 years of nu run) can give a close to 2 sigma hint of
hierarchy discovery for all values of deltacp. With this combined data, we can
achieve CP violation discovery at 95% C.L. for roughly 60% values of deltacp.Comment: 22 pages, 24 pdf figures, 5 tables. In the appendix, new results are
presented with conservative choices of central values of oscillation
parameters. New references are added. Accepted in JHE
Neutrino physics at accelerators
Present and future neutrino experiments at accelerators are mainly concerned
with understanding the neutrino oscillation phenomenon and its implications.
Here a brief account of neutrino oscillations is given together with a
description of the supporting data. Some current and planned accelerator
neutrino experiments are also explained.Comment: 23 pages, 24 figures. Talk given at the Corfu Summer Institute on
Elementary Particle Physics 200
Parameter Degeneracies in Neutrino Oscillation Measurement of Leptonic CP and T Violation
The measurement of the mixing angle \theta_{13}, sign of \Delta m^2_{13} and
the CP or T violating phase \delta is fraught with ambiguities in neutrino
oscillation. In this paper we give an analytic treatment of the paramater
degeneracies associated with measuring the \nu_\mu -> \nu_e probability and its
CP and/or T conjugates. For CP violation, we give explicit solutions to allow
us to obtain the regions where there exist two-fold and four-fold degeneracies.
We calculate the fractional differences, \Delta \theta / \bar{\theta}, between
the allowed solutions which may be used to compare with the expected
sensitivities of the experiments. For T violation we show that there is always
a complete degeneracy between solutions with positive and negative \Delta
m^2_{13} which arises due to a symmetry and cannot be removed by observing one
neutrino oscillation probability and its T conjugate. Thus, there is always a
four fold parameter degeneracy apart from exceptional points. Explicit
solutions are also given and the fractional differences are computed. The
bi-probability CP/T trajectory diagrams are extensively used to illuminate the
nature of the degeneracies.Comment: 35 pages, Latex, 11 postscript figures, minor correction
Experimental study of the atmospheric neutrino backgrounds for proton decay to positron and neutral pion searches in water Cherenkov detectors
The atmospheric neutrino background for proton decay to positron and neutral
pion in ring imaging water Cherenkov detectors is studied with an artificial
accelerator neutrino beam for the first time. In total, about 314,000 neutrino
events corresponding to about 10 megaton-years of atmospheric neutrino
interactions were collected by a 1,000 ton water Cherenkov detector (KT). The
KT charged-current single neutral pion production data are well reproduced by
simulation programs of neutrino and secondary hadronic interactions used in the
Super-Kamiokande (SK) proton decay search. The obtained proton to positron and
neutral pion background rate by the KT data for SK from the atmospheric
neutrinos whose energies are below 3 GeV is about two per megaton-year. This
result is also relevant to possible future, megaton-scale water Cherenkov
detectors.Comment: 13 pages, 16 figure
Search for coherent charged pion production in neutrino-carbon interactions
We report the result from a search for charged-current coherent pion
production induced by muon neutrinos with a mean energy of 1.3 GeV. The data
are collected with a fully active scintillator detector in the K2K
long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment. No evidence for coherent pion
production is observed and an upper limit of is set on
the cross section ratio of coherent pion production to the total
charged-current interaction at 90% confidence level. This is the first
experimental limit for coherent charged pion production in the energy region of
a few GeV.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Measurement of single charged pion production in the charged-current interactions of neutrinos in a 1.3 GeV wide band beam
Single charged pion production in charged-current muon neutrino interactions
with carbon is studied using data collected in the K2K long-baseline neutrino
experiment. The mean energy of the incident muon neutrinos is 1.3 GeV. The data
used in this analysis are mainly from a fully active scintillator detector,
SciBar. The cross section for single production in the resonance
region ( GeV/) relative to the charged-current quasi-elastic cross
section is found to be 0.734 . The energy-dependent cross
section ratio is also measured. The results are consistent with a previous
experiment and the prediction of our model.Comment: 15 pages, 12 figures, 7 tables. Uses revtex4. Minor revisions to
match version accepted for publication in Physical Review
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