963 research outputs found
Super-Kamiokande atmospheric neutrinos: Status of subdominant oscillations
In the context of the recent (79.5 kTy) Super-Kamiokande atmospheric neutrino
data, we concisely review the status of muonic-tauonic flavor oscillations and
of the subdominant electron or sterile neutrino mixing, in schemes with three
or four families and one dominant mass scale. In the three-family case, where
we include the full CHOOZ spectral data, we also show, through a specific
example, that ``maximal'' violations of the one-dominant mass scale
approximation are not ruled out yet.Comment: 8 pages + 10 figure
Super-Kamiokande atmospheric neutrino data, zenith distributions, and three-flavor oscillations
We present a detailed analysis of the zenith angle distributions of
atmospheric neutrino events observed in the Super-Kamiokande (SK) underground
experiment, assuming two-flavor and three-flavor oscillations (with one
dominant mass scale) among active neutrinos. In particular, we calculate the
five angular distributions associated to sub-GeV and multi-GeV \mu-like and
e-like events and to upward through-going muons, for a total of 30 accurately
computed observables (zenith bins). First we study how such observables vary
with the oscillation parameters, and then we perform a fit to the experimental
data as measured in SK for an exposure of 33 kTy (535 days). In the two-flavor
mixing case, we confirm the results of the SK Collaboration analysis, namely,
that \nu_\mu\nu_\tau oscillations are preferred over \nu_\mu\nu_e,
and that the no oscillation case is excluded with high confidence. In the
three-flavor mixing case, we perform our analysis with and without the
additional constraints imposed by the CHOOZ reactor experiment. In both cases,
the analysis favors a dominance of the \nu_\mu\nu_\tau channel. Without
the CHOOZ constraints, the amplitudes of the subdominant \nu_\munu_e and
\nu_e\nu_\tau transitions can also be relatively large, indicating that,
at present, current SK data do not exclude sizable \nu_e mixing by themselves.
After combining the CHOOZ and SK data, the amplitudes of the subdominant
transitions are constrained to be smaller, but they can still play a
nonnegligible role both in atmospheric and other neutrino oscillation searches.
In particular, we find that the \nu_e appearance probability expected in long
baseline experiments can reach the testable level of ~15%.Comment: 35 pages (RevTeX), including 20 ps figures (with epsfig.sty
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
Four-neutrino oscillation solutions of the atmospheric neutrino anomaly
In the context of neutrino scenarios characterized by four (three active plus
one sterile) neutrino species and by mass spectra with two separated doublets,
we analyze solutions to the atmospheric neutrino anomaly which smoothly
interpolate between \nu_\mu-->\nu_\tau and \nu_\mu-->\nu_s oscillations. We
show that, although the Super-Kamiokande data disfavor the pure \nu_\mu-->\nu_s
channel, they do not exclude its occurrence, with sizable amplitude, in
addition to the \nu_\mu-->\nu_\tau channel. High energy muon data appear to be
crucial in assessing the relative amplitude of active and sterile neutrino
oscillations. It is also qualitatively shown that such atmospheric \nu
solutions are compatible with analogous solutions to the solar neutrino
problem, which involve oscillations of \nu_e in both sterile and active states.Comment: Added references. Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Evidence of theta(13)>0 from global neutrino data analysis
The neutrino mixing angle theta(13) is at the focus of current neutrino
research. From a global analysis of the available oscillation data in a
3-neutrino framework, we previously reported [Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 141801
(2008)] hints in favor of theta(13)>0 at the 90 % C.L. Such hints are
consistent with the recent indications of nu(mu)-->nu(e) appearance in the T2K
and MINOS long-baseline accelerator experiments. Our global analysis of all the
available data currently provides >3 sigma evidence for nonzero theta(13), with
1-sigma ranges sin^2 theta(13) = 0.021+-0.007 or 0.025+-0.007, depending on
reactor neutrino flux systematics. Updated ranges are also reported for the
other 3-neutrino oscillation parameters (delta m^2, sin^2 theta(12)) and (Delta
m^2, sin^2 theta(23)).Comment: Slightly revised text; results unchanged. To appear in Phys. Rev.
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
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
- …