Constraints on Neutrino Mixing

We explore the implications of imposing the constraint that two neutrino flavors (which for definiteness we take to be the mu and tau neutrinos) are similarly coupled to the mass basis in addition to the unitarity constraints. We allow three active and an arbitrary number of sterile neutrinos. We show that in this scheme one of the mass eigenstates decouples from the problem, reducing the dimension of the flavor space by one.Comment: 9 page

Ground and excited states Gamow-Teller strength distributions of iron isotopes and associated capture rates for core-collapse simulations

This paper reports on the microscopic calculation of ground and excited states Gamow-Teller (GT) strength distributions, both in the electron capture and electron decay direction, for $^{54,55,56}$Fe. The associated electron and positron capture rates for these isotopes of iron are also calculated in stellar matter. These calculations were recently introduced and this paper is a follow-up which discusses in detail the GT strength distributions and stellar capture rates of key iron isotopes. The calculations are performed within the framework of the proton-neutron quasiparticle random phase approximation (pn-QRPA) theory. The pn-QRPA theory allows a microscopic \textit{state-by-state} calculation of GT strength functions and stellar capture rates which greatly increases the reliability of the results. For the first time experimental deformation of nuclei are taken into account. In the core of massive stars isotopes of iron, $^{54,55,56}$Fe, are considered to be key players in decreasing the electron-to-baryon ratio ($Y_{e}$) mainly via electron capture on these nuclide. The structure of the presupernova star is altered both by the changes in $Y_{e}$ and the entropy of the core material. Results are encouraging and are compared against measurements (where possible) and other calculations. The calculated electron capture rates are in overall good agreement with the shell model results. During the presupernova evolution of massive stars, from oxygen shell burning stages till around end of convective core silicon burning, the calculated electron capture rates on $^{54}$Fe are around three times bigger than the corresponding shell model rates. The calculated positron capture rates, however, are suppressed by two to five orders of magnitude.Comment: 18 pages, 12 figures, 10 table

Exact Solutions for Matter-Enhanced Neutrino Oscillations

The analogy between supersymmetric quantum mechanics and matter-enhanced neutrino oscillations is exploited to obtain exact solutions for a class of electron density profiles. This integrability condition is analogous to the shape-invariance in supersymmetric quantum mechanics. This method seems to be the most direct way to obtain the exact survival probabilities for a number of density profiles of interest, such as linear and exponential density profiles. The resulting neutrino amplitudes can also be utilized as comparison amplitudes for the uniform semiclassical treatment of neutrino propagation in arbitrary electron density profiles.Comment: Submitted to Physical Review D. Latex file, 8 pages. This paper is also available at http://nucth.physics.wisc.edu/preprints

New Upper Limits on the Tau Neutrino Mass from Primordial Helium Considerations

In this paper we reconsider recently derived bounds on $MeV$ tau neutrinos, taking into account previously unaccounted for effects. We find that, assuming that the neutrino life-time is longer than $O(100~sec)$, the constraint $N_{eff}<3.6$ rules out $\nu_{\tau}$ masses in the range $0.5~(MeV)<m_{\nu_\tau}<35~(MeV)$ for Majorana neutrinos and $0.74~(MeV)<m_{\nu_\tau}<35~(MeV)$ for Dirac neutrinos. Given that the present laboratory bound is 35 MeV, our results lower the present bound to $0.5$ and $0.74$ for Majorana and Dirac neutrinos respectively.Comment: 9 pages (2 figures available upon request), UM-AC-93-0

The MSW Effect in Quantum Field Theory

We show in detail the general relationship between the Schr\"{o}dinger equation approach to calculating the MSW effect and the quantum field theoretical S-matrix approach. We show the precise form a generic neutrino propagator must have to allow a physically meaningful ``oscillation probability'' to be decoupled from neutrino production fluxes and detection cross-sections, and explicitly list the conditions---not realized in cases of current experimental interest---in which the field theory approach would be useful.Comment: 20 page REVTeX file, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Neutrino capture by r-process waiting-point nuclei

We use the Quasiparticle Random Phase Approximation to include the effects of low-lying Gamow-Teller and first forbidden strength in neutrino capture by very neutron-rich nuclei with N = 50, 82, or 126. For electron neutrinos in what is currently considered the most likely r-process site the capture cross sections are two or more times previous estimates. We briefly discuss the reliability of our calculations and their implications for nucleosynthesis.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure

Restrictions on the lifetime of sterile neutrinos from primordial nucleosynthesis

We analyze the influence of decaying sterile neutrinos with the masses in the range 1-140 MeV on the primordial Helium-4 abundance, explicitly solving the Boltzmann equations for all particle species, taking into account neutrino flavour oscillations, and paying special attention to systematic uncertainties. We show that the Helium abundance depends only on the sterile neutrino lifetime and not on the way the active-sterile mixing is distributed between flavours, and derive an upper bound on the lifetime. We also demonstrate that the recent results of Izotov & Thuan [arXiv:1001.4440], who find 2sigma higher than predicted by the standard primordial nucleosynthesis value of Helium-4 abundance, are consistent with the presence in the plasma of sterile neutrinos with the lifetime 0.01-2 seconds. The decay of these particles perturbs the spectra of (decoupled) neutrinos and heats photons, changing the ratio of neutrino to photon energy density, that can be interpreted as extra neutrino species at the recombination epoch.Comment: 17 pp. + Appendices. Analysis of deuterium bounds and more accurate account of CMB bounds on Helium-4 is added. Final version to appear in JCA

Neutrino flavor conversion in a neutrino background: single- versus multi-particle description

In the early Universe, or near a supernova core, neutrino flavor evolution may be affected by coherent neutrino-neutrino scattering. We develop a microscopic picture of this phenomenon. We show that coherent scattering does not lead to the formation of entangled states in the neutrino ensemble and therefore the evolution of the system can always be described by a set of one-particle equations. We also show that the previously accepted formalism overcounts the neutrino interaction energy; the correct one-particle evolution equations for both active-active and active-sterile oscillations contain additional terms. These additional terms modify the index of refraction of the neutrino medium, but have no effect on oscillation physics.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures, minor typos correcte

Charged-current neutrino-208Pb reactions

We present theoretical results on the non flux-averaged $^{208}Pb(\nu_{e},e^-)^{208}Bi$ and $^{208}Pb(\nu_{\mu},\mu^-)^{208}Bi$ reaction cross sections, obtained within the charge-exchange Random-Phase-Approximation. A detailed knowledge of these cross sections is important in different contexts. In particular, it is necessary to assess the possibility of using lead as a detector in future experiments on supernova neutrinos, such as OMNIS and LAND, and eventually detect neutrino oscillation signals by exploiting the spectroscopic properties of $^{208}Bi$. We discuss the present status on the theoretical predictions of the reaction cross sections.Comment: 5 pages, latex, 3 figures. added discussion on present status, Submitted to Phys.Rev.

Affleck-Dine baryogenesis in the local domain

For Affleck-Dine baryogenesis to proceed, there must have been two types of phase transitions. One is the destabilized-stabilized phase transition of the flat direction, which is in general induced by the Hubble parameter. The other is the phase transition related to the A-term, which induces the misalignment of the relative phase of the flat direction. In the conventional Affleck-Dine baryogenesis they are supposed to start almost simultaneously. Of course these phase transitions can take place separately, but the latter must not be later than the former because the phase transition of the A-term can not produce any baryon number when there is no condensate of the relative charge. In this paper we try to construct models where the original idea of Affleck-Dine baryogenesis is realized in a different way. We show examples in which the local domain of the false vacuum with the required condensate is formed after inflation and collapses in a safe way so that the domain wall problem is avoided. We also show examples where the phase transition of the A-term starts before the decay of the condensate. As in the conventional Affleck-Dine mechanism, the phase transition of the A-term produces baryon number in the local domain of the condensate. We construct scenarios where our mechanism produces sufficient baryon asymmetry of the Universe.Comment: 18pages, latex2e, to appear in PR