32 research outputs found
Combined potential of future long-baseline and reactor experiments
We investigate the determination of neutrino oscillation parameters by
experiments within the next ten years. The potential of conventional beam
experiments (MINOS, ICARUS, OPERA), superbeam experiments (T2K, NOvA), and
reactor experiments (D-CHOOZ) to improve the precision on the ``atmospheric''
parameters , , as well as the sensitivity to
are discussed. Further, we comment on the possibility to
determine the leptonic CP-phase and the neutrino mass hierarchy if
turns out to be large.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, Talk given by T.S. at the NOW2004 workshop, Conca
Specchiulla (Otranto, Italy), 11--17 Sept. 200
Prospects of accelerator and reactor neutrino oscillation experiments for the coming ten years
We analyze the physics potential of long baseline neutrino oscillation
experiments planned for the coming ten years, where the main focus is the
sensitivity limit to the small mixing angle . The discussed
experiments include the conventional beam experiments MINOS, ICARUS, and OPERA,
which are under construction, the planned superbeam experiments J-PARC to
Super-Kamiokande and NuMI off-axis, as well as new reactor experiments with
near and far detectors, represented by the Double-Chooz project. We perform a
complete numerical simulation including systematics, correlations, and
degeneracies on an equal footing for all experiments using the GLoBES software.
After discussing the improvement of our knowledge on the atmospheric parameters
and by these experiments, we investigate the
potential to determine within the next ten years in detail.
Furthermore, we show that under optimistic assumptions and for
close to the current bound, even the next generation of experiments might
provide some information on the Dirac CP phase and the type of the neutrino
mass hierarchy.Comment: 38 pages, 13 figures, Eqs. (1) and (5) corrected, small corrections
in Figs. 8, 9, and Tab. 4, discussion improved, ref. added, version to appear
in PRD, high resolution figures are available at
http://www.sns.ias.edu/~winter/figs0403068.htm
On a model with two zeros in the neutrino mass matrix
We consider a Majorana neutrino mass matrix with
, in the basis
where the charged-lepton mass matrix is diagonal. We show that this pattern for
the lepton mass matrices can be enforced by extending the Standard Model with
three scalar SU(2) triplets and by using a horizontal symmetry group
\mathbbm{Z}_4. The Ma--Sarkar (type-II seesaw) mechanism leads to very small
vacuum expectation values for the triplets, thus explaining the smallness of
the neutrino masses; at the same time, that mechanism renders the physical
scalars originating in the triplets very heavy. We show that the conditions
allow both for
a normal neutrino mass spectrum and for an inverted one. In the first case, the
neutrino masses must be larger than and the atmospheric mixing angle
must be practically equal to . In the second case, the
product must be of order one or
larger, thus correlating the large or maximal atmospheric neutrino mixing with
the smallness of the mixing angle .Comment: 13 pages, no figures, plain LaTeX; one equation added, published
references updated, final version for J. Phys.
Reactor Neutrino Experiments Compared to Superbeams
We present a detailed quantitative discussion of the measurement of the
leptonic mixing angle with a future reactor neutrino
oscillation experiment consisting of a near and far detector. We perform a
thorough analysis of the impact of various systematical errors and compare the
resulting physics potential to the one of planned first-generation superbeam
experiments. Furthermore, we investigate the complementarity of both types of
experiments. We find that, under realistic assumptions, a determination of
down to is possible with reactor experiments.
They are thus highly competitive to first-generation superbeams and may be able
to test on shorter timescales. In addition, we find that
the combination of a KamLAND-size reactor experiment with one or two superbeams
could substantially improve the ability to access the neutrino mass hierarchy
or the leptonic CP phase.Comment: Typo in Eq. (9) corrected. 36 pages, 12 figure
Status of global fits to neutrino oscillations
We review the present status of global analyses of neutrino oscillations,
taking into account the most recent neutrino data including the latest KamLAND
and K2K updates presented at Neutrino2004, as well as state-of-the-art solar
and atmospheric neutrino flux calculations. We give the two-neutrino solar +
KamLAND results, as well as two-neutrino atmospheric + K2K oscillation regions,
discussing in each case the robustness of the oscillation interpretation
against departures from the Standard Solar Model and the possible existence of
non-standard neutrino physics. Furthermore, we give the best fit values and
allowed ranges of the three-flavour oscillation parameters from the current
worlds' global neutrino data sample and discuss in detail the status of the
small parameters \alpha \equiv \Dms/\Dma as well as ,
which characterize the strength of CP violating effects in neutrino
oscillations. We also update the degree of rejection of four-neutrino
interpretations of the LSND anomaly in view of the most recent developments.Comment: v6: In the last Appendix we provide updated neutrino oscillation
results which take into account the relevant oscillation data released by the
MINOS and KamLAND collaboration
Neutral currents and tests of three-neutrino unitarity in long-baseline experiments
We examine a strategy for using neutral current measurements in long-baseline
neutrino oscillation experiments to put limits on the existence of more than
three light, active neutrinos. We determine the relative contributions of
statistics, cross section uncertainties, event misidentification and other
systematic errors to the overall uncertainty of these measurements. As specific
case studies, we make simulations of beams and detectors that are like the K2K,
T2K, and MINOS experiments. We find that the neutral current cross section
uncertainty and contamination of the neutral current signal by charge current
events allow a sensitivity for determining the presence of sterile neutinos at
the 0.10--0.15 level in probablility.Comment: 24 pages, Latex2e, uses graphicx.sty, 2 postscript figures. Submitted
to the Neutrino Focus Issue of New Journal Physics at http://www.njp.or
High intensity neutrino oscillation facilities in Europe
The EUROnu project has studied three possible options for future, high intensity neutrino oscillation facilities in Europe. The first is a Super Beam, in which the neutrinos come from the decay of pions created by bombarding targets with a 4 MW proton beam from the CERN High Power Superconducting Proton Linac. The far detector for this facility is the 500 kt MEMPHYS water Cherenkov, located in the Fréjus tunnel. The second facility is the Neutrino Factory, in which the neutrinos come from the decay of μ+ and μ− beams in a storage ring. The far detector in this case is a 100 kt magnetized iron neutrino detector at a baseline of 2000 km. The third option is a Beta Beam, in which the neutrinos come from the decay of beta emitting isotopes, in particular He6 and Ne18, also stored in a ring. The far detector is also the MEMPHYS detector in the Fréjus tunnel. EUROnu has undertaken conceptual designs of these facilities and studied the performance of the detectors. Based on this, it has determined the physics reach of each facility, in particular for the measurement of CP violation in the lepton sector, and estimated the cost of construction. These have demonstrated that the best facility to build is the Neutrino Factory. However, if a powerful proton driver is constructed for another purpose or if the MEMPHYS detector is built for astroparticle physics, the Super Beam also becomes very attractive
Interim Design Report
The International Design Study for the Neutrino Factory (the IDS-NF) was
established by the community at the ninth "International Workshop on Neutrino
Factories, super-beams, and beta- beams" which was held in Okayama in August
2007. The IDS-NF mandate is to deliver the Reference Design Report (RDR) for
the facility on the timescale of 2012/13. In addition, the mandate for the
study [3] requires an Interim Design Report to be delivered midway through the
project as a step on the way to the RDR. This document, the IDR, has two
functions: it marks the point in the IDS-NF at which the emphasis turns to the
engineering studies required to deliver the RDR and it documents baseline
concepts for the accelerator complex, the neutrino detectors, and the
instrumentation systems. The IDS-NF is, in essence, a site-independent study.
Example sites, CERN, FNAL, and RAL, have been identified to allow site-specific
issues to be addressed in the cost analysis that will be presented in the RDR.
The choice of example sites should not be interpreted as implying a preferred
choice of site for the facility
Light Sterile Neutrinos: A White Paper
This white paper addresses the hypothesis of light sterile neutrinos based on
recent anomalies observed in neutrino experiments and the latest astrophysical
data
Interim Design Report
The International Design Study for the Neutrino Factory (the IDS-NF) was established by the community at the ninth International Workshop on Neutrino Factories, super-beams, and beta- beams which was held in Okayama in August 2007. The IDS-NF mandate is to deliver the Reference Design Report (RDR) for the facility on the timescale of 2012/13. In addition, the mandate for the study [3] requires an Interim Design Report to be delivered midway through the project as a step on the way to the RDR. This document, the IDR, has two functions: it marks the point in the IDS-NF at which the emphasis turns to the engineering studies required to deliver the RDR and it documents baseline concepts for the accelerator complex, the neutrino detectors, and the instrumentation systems. The IDS-NF is, in essence, a site-independent study. Example sites, CERN, FNAL, and RAL, have been identified to allow site-specific issues to be addressed in the cost analysis that will be presented in the RDR. The choice of example sites should not be interpreted as implying a preferred choice of site for the facility