Astroparticle physics in Hyper-Kamiokande

Hyper-Kamiokande (Hyper-K) is a proposed next-generation general purpose neutrino detection experiment. It comprises an underground water Cherenkov detector that will be more than 8 times as large as the highly successful Super-Kamiokande and use significantly improved photodetectors with the same 40 % photocoverage. The resulting sensitivity improvements will particularly benefit astroparticle physics at low energies. This talk will give an overview over Hyper-K and present its projected physics reach in the areas of supernova neutrinos, solar neutrinos and indirect dark matter searches, based on the current design report. It will also discuss additional sensitivity improvements if the second detector is built in Korea in a location with a higher overburden

The Hyper-Kamiokande Experiment: Overview & Status

The Hyper-Kamiokande (HK) experiment centres around a proposed next-generation underground water Cherenkov detector that will be nearly 20 times larger than the highly successful Super-Kamiokande experiment and use significantly improved photodetectors with the same 40% photocoverage. HK will increase existing sensitivity to proton decay by an order of magnitude, and it will study neutrinos from various sources, including atmospheric neutrinos, solar neutrinos, and supernova neutrinos. In addition to operating as a standalone experiment, HK will serve as the far detector of a long-baseline neutrino experiment using the upgraded J-PARC neutrino beam, enhancing searches for lepton-sector CP violation. This contribution to the NuPhys2016 proceedings presents recent developments and the current status of the experiment. It discusses ongoing photosensor R&D efforts and the expected physics reach in the area of supernova neutrinos as showcased in the recently published design report. Other physics topics, including neutrino oscillations and nucleon decay, are discussed in a separate contribution to these proceedings

Supernova Burst Observations with DUNE

The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) is a 40-kton underground liquid argon time-projection-chamber detector that will have unique sensitivity to the electron flavor component of a core-collapse supernova neutrino burst. We present expected capabilities of DUNE for measurements of neutrinos in the few-tens-of-MeV range relevant for supernova detection and the corresponding sensitivities to neutrino physics and supernova astrophysics. Recent progress and some outstanding issues will be highlighted

Detecting Fast Time Variations in the Supernova Neutrino Flux with Hyper-Kamiokande

For detection of neutrinos from galactic supernovae, the planned Hyper-Kamiokande detector will be the first detector that delivers both a high event rate (about one third of the IceCube rate) and event-by-event energy information. In this thesis, we use a three-dimensional computer simulation by the Garching group to find out whether this additional information can be used to improve the detection prospects of fast time variations in the neutrino flux. We find that the amplitude of SASI oscillations of the neutrino number flux is energy-dependent. However, in this simulation, the larger amplitude in some energy bins is not sufficient to counteract the increased noise caused by the lower event rate. Finally, we derive a condition describing when it is advantageous to consider an energy bin instead of the total signal and show that this condition is satisfied if the oscillation of the mean neutrino energy is increased slightly

Simulating fast time variations in the supernova neutrino flux in Hyper-Kamiokande

Hyper-Kamiokande is a proposed next-generation water Cherenkov detector. If a galactic supernova happens, it will deliver a high event rate ($\mathcal{O}(10^5)$ neutrino events in total) as well as event-by-event energy information. Recent supernova simulations exhibit the Standing Accretion Shock Instability (SASI) which causes oscillations in the number flux and mean energy of neutrinos. The amplitude of these oscillations is energy-dependent, so the energy information available in Hyper-Kamiokande could be used to improve the detection prospects of these SASI oscillations. To determine whether this can be achieved in the presence of detector effects like backgrounds and finite energy uncertainty, we have started work on a detailed simulation of Hyper-Kamiokande's response to a supernova neutrino burst

Supernova burst and relic neutrino sensitivity studies in the Hyper-Kamiokande Korean sites

Hyper-Kamiokande is a next-generation water Cherencov detector for neutrino physics. Its large volume (260 kton × 2) allows Supernova burst (SN) neutrino and Supernova Relic Neutrino (SRN) search much more promising than current Super-Kamiokande detector (50 kton). With an alternative plan of locating one of the two identical detectors to Korea, better physics sensitivities are expected because of less muon flux and its spallation isotopes due to more overburden in Korean candidate sites than Japanese Hyper-Kamiokande site (Tochibora). According to our study using simple MC 102 SRN events (5.2 sigma) in a Korean site and 71 SRN events (4.2 sigma) in the Japanese site are expected for 10 years of operation for one detector. Sensitivity studies using a full MC will be performed in the near future

Supernova model discrimination with a kilotonne-scale Gd-H2O Cherenkov detector

The supernova model discrimination capabilities of the WATCHMAN detector concept are explored. This cylindrical kilotonne-scale water Cherenkov detector design has been developed to detect reactor antineutrinos through inverse β-decay for non-proliferation applications but also has the ability to observe antineutrino bursts of core-collapse supernovae within our galaxy. Detector configurations with sizes ranging from 16 m to 22 m tank diameter and 10% to 20% PMT coverage are used to compare the expected observable antineutrino spectra based on the Nakazato, Vartanyan and Warren supernova models. These spectra are then compared to each other with a fixed event count of 100 observed inverse β-decay events and a benchmark supernova at 10 kpc distance from Earth. By comparing the expected spectra, each detector configuration's ability to distinguish is evaluated. This analysis then demonstrates that the detector design is capable of meaningful event discrimination (90+% accuracy) with 100 observed supernova antineutrino events in most configurations. Furthermore, a larger tank configuration can maintain this performance at 10 kpc distance and above, indicating that overall target mass is the main factor for such a detector's discrimination capabilities. Finally, it is estimated that the detector design can provide early warning capability for supernova bursts for the entire Milky Way in all configurations

Search for Cosmic-ray Boosted Sub-GeV Dark Matter using Recoil Protons at Super-Kamiokande

We report a search for cosmic-ray boosted dark matter with protons using the 0.37 megaton$\times$years data collected at Super-Kamiokande experiment during the 1996-2018 period (SKI-IV phase). We searched for an excess of proton recoils above the atmospheric neutrino background from the vicinity of the Galactic Center. No such excess is observed, and limits are calculated for two reference models of dark matter with either a constant interaction cross-section or through a scalar mediator. This is the first experimental search for boosted dark matter with hadrons using directional information. The results present the most stringent limits on cosmic-ray boosted dark matter and exclude the dark matter-nucleon elastic scattering cross-section between $10^{-33}\text{ cm}^{-2}$ and $10^{-27}\text{ cm}^{-2}$ for dark matter mass from 10 MeV/$c^2$ to 1 GeV/$c^2$.Comment: With 1-page appendi

Search for Periodic Time Variations of the Solar 8^8B Neutrino Flux Between 1996 and 2018 in Super-Kamiokande

We report a search for time variations of the solar $^8$B neutrino flux using 5,804 live days of Super-Kamiokande data collected between May 31, 1996, and May 30, 2018. Super-Kamiokande measured the precise time of each solar neutrino interaction over 22 calendar years to search for solar neutrino flux modulations with unprecedented precision. Periodic modulations are searched for in a data set comprised of five-day interval solar neutrino flux measurements with a maximum likelihood method. We also applied the Lomb-Scargle method to this data set to compare it with previous reports. The only significant modulation found is due to the elliptic orbit of the Earth around the Sun. The observed modulation is consistent with astronomical data: we measured an eccentricity of (1.53$\pm$0.35)\,\%, and a perihelion shift is ($-$1.5$\pm$13.5)\,days.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables, and data file: "sksolartimevariation5804d.txt

Hyper-Kamiokande Design Report

325 pages325 pagesOn the strength of a double Nobel prize winning experiment (Super)Kamiokande and an extremely successful long baseline neutrino programme, the third generation Water Cherenkov detector, Hyper-Kamiokande, is being developed by an international collaboration as a leading worldwide experiment based in Japan. The Hyper-Kamiokande detector will be hosted in the Tochibora mine, about 295 km away from the J-PARC proton accelerator research complex in Tokai, Japan. The currently existing accelerator will be steadily upgraded to reach a MW beam by the start of the experiment. A suite of near detectors will be vital to constrain the beam for neutrino oscillation measurements. A new cavern will be excavated at the Tochibora mine to host the detector. The experiment will be the largest underground water Cherenkov detector in the world and will be instrumented with new technology photosensors, faster and with higher quantum efficiency than the ones in Super-Kamiokande. The science that will be developed will be able to shape the future theoretical framework and generations of experiments. Hyper-Kamiokande will be able to measure with the highest precision the leptonic CP violation that could explain the baryon asymmetry in the Universe. The experiment also has a demonstrated excellent capability to search for proton decay, providing a significant improvement in discovery sensitivity over current searches for the proton lifetime. The atmospheric neutrinos will allow to determine the neutrino mass ordering and, together with the beam, able to precisely test the three-flavour neutrino oscillation paradigm and search for new phenomena. A strong astrophysical programme will be carried out at the experiment that will detect supernova neutrinos and will measure precisely solar neutrino oscillation