1,638 research outputs found
Neutrino mass hierarchy and precision physics with medium-baseline reactors: Impact of energy-scale and flux-shape uncertainties
Nuclear reactors provide intense sources of electron antineutrinos,
characterized by few-MeV energy E and unoscillated spectral shape Phi(E).
High-statistics observations of reactor neutrino oscillations over
medium-baseline distances L ~ O(50) km would provide unprecedented
opportunities to probe both the long-wavelength mass-mixing parameters (delta
m^2 and theta_12) and the short-wavelength ones (Delta m^2 and theta_13),
together with the subtle interference effects associated with the neutrino mass
hierarchy (either normal or inverted). In a given experimental setting - here
taken as in the JUNO project for definiteness - the achievable hierarchy
sensitivity and parameter accuracy depend not only on the accumulated
statistics but also on systematic uncertainties, which include (but are not
limited to) the mass-mixing priors and the normalizations of signals and
backgrounds. We examine, in addition, the effect of introducing smooth
deformations of the detector energy scale, E -> E'(E), and of the reactor flux
shape, Phi(E) -> Phi'(E), within reasonable error bands inspired by
state-of-the-art estimates. It turns out that energy-scale and flux-shape
systematics can noticeably affect the performance of a JUNO-like experiment,
both on the hierarchy discrimination and on precision oscillation physics. It
is shown that a significant reduction of the assumed energy-scale and
flux-shape uncertainties (by, say, a factor of 2) would be highly beneficial to
the physics program of medium-baseline reactor projects. Our results also shed
some light on the role of the inverse-beta decay threshold, of geoneutrino
backgrounds, and of matter effects in the analysis of future reactor
oscillation data.Comment: 13 pages, including 17 figures. Minor changes in the text, references
added. To appear in Phys. Rev.
The Higgs Boson Mass from Precision Electroweak Data
We present a new global fit to precision electroweak data, including new low-
and high-energy data and analyzing the radiative corrections arising from the
minimal symmetry breaking sectors of the Standard Model (SM) and its
supersymmetric extension (MSSM). It is shown that present data favor a Higgs
mass of O(M_Z): M_H = 76+152-50 GeV. We confront our analysis with
(meta)stability and perturbative bounds on the SM Higgs mass, and the
theoretical upper bound on the MSSM Higgs mass. Present data do not
discriminate significantly between the SM and MSSM Higgs mass ranges. We
comment in passing on the sensitivity of the Higgs mass determination to the
values of alpha(M_Z) and alpha_s(M_Z).Comment: 10 pages, latex, 8 figures as uu-encoded postscript fil
Neutrino physics
A brief review of the status of neutrino masses and mixings is presented, with emphasis on Italian contributions to this field of research
Analysis of energy- and time-dependence of supernova shock effects on neutrino crossing probabilities
It has recently been realized that supernova neutrino signals may be affected
by shock propagation over a time interval of a few seconds after bounce. In the
standard three-neutrino oscillation scenario, such effects crucially depend on
the neutrino level crossing probability P_H in the 1-3 sector. By using a
simplified parametrization of the time-dependent supernova radial density
profile, we explicitly show that simple analytical expressions for P_H
accurately reproduce the phase-averaged results of numerical calculations in
the relevant parameter space. Such expressions are then used to study the
structure of P_H as a function of energy and time, with particular attention to
cases involving multiple crossing along the shock profile. Illustrative
applications are given in terms of positron spectra generated by supernova
electron antineutrinos through inverse beta decay.Comment: Major changes both in the text and in the figures in order to include
the effect of a step-like shock front density profile; final version to
appear in Physical Review
Addendum to: Model-dependent and -independent implications of the first Sudbury Neutrino Observatory results
In the light of recent experimental and theoretical improvements, we review
our previous model-independent comparison [hep-ph/0106247] of the
Super-Kamiokande (SK) and Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) solar neutrino
event rates, including updated values for the ``equalized'' SK datum and for
the reference Standard Solar Model (SSM) B neutrino flux. We find that the
joint SK+SNO evidence for active neutrino flavor transitions is confirmed at
the level of 3.3 standard deviations, independently of possible transitions to
sterile states. Barring sterile neutrinos, we estimate the 3-sigma range for
the B neutrino flux (normalized to SSM) as f_B=0.96 +0.54-0.55.
Accordingly, the 3-sigma range for the energy-averaged nu_e survival
probability is found to be = 0.31 +0.55-0.16, independently of the
functional form of P_ee. An increase of the reference nu_e + d --> p + p + e
cross section by ~3%, as suggested by recent theoretical calculations, would
slightly shift the central values of f_B and of to ~1.00 and ~0.29,
respectively, and would strengthen the model-independent evidence for nu_e
transitions into active states at the level of ~3.6 sigma.Comment: 6 pages + 2 figures. Addendum to hep-ph/010624
Global analysis of three-flavor neutrino masses and mixings
We present a comprehensive phenomenological analysis of a vast amount of data
from neutrino flavor oscillation and non-oscillation searches, performed within
the standard scenario with three massive and mixed neutrinos, and with
particular attention to subleading effects. The detailed results discussed in
this review represent a state-of-the-art, accurate and up-to-date (as of August
2005) estimate of the three-neutrino mass-mixing parameters.Comment: Final version (including a new Appendix), to be published in
"Progress in Particle and Nuclear Physics". Higher-resolution pdf file and
eps figures can be download from http://www.ba.infn.it/~now2004/PPNP_review
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