1 research outputs found
Neutrinos in a spherical box
In the present paper we study some neutrino properties as they may appear in
the low energy neutrinos emitted in triton decay with maximum neutrino energy
of 18.6 keV. The technical challenges to this end can be achieved by building a
very large TPC capable of detecting low energy recoils, down to a a few tenths
of a keV, within the required low background constraints. More specifically We
propose the development of a spherical gaseous TPC of about 10-m in radius and
a 200 Mcurie triton source in the center of curvature. One can list a number of
exciting studies, concerning fundamental physics issues, that could be made
using a large volume TPC and low energy antineutrinos: 1) The oscillation
length involving the small angle of the neutrino mixing matrix, directly
measured in this disappearance experiment, is fully contained inside the
detector. Measuring the counting rate of neutrino-electron elastic scattering
as a function of the distance of the source will give a precise and unambiguous
measurement of the oscillation parameters free of systematic errors. In fact
first estimates show that even with a year's data taking a sensitivity of a few
percent for the measurement of the above angle will be achieved. 2) The low
energy detection threshold offers a unique sensitivity for the neutrino
magnetic moment which is about two orders of magnitude beyond the current
experimental limit. 3) Scattering at such low neutrino energies has never been
studied and any departure from the expected behavior may be an indication of
new physics beyond the standard model. In this work we mainly focus on the
various theoretical issues involved including a precise determination of the
Weinberg angle at very low momentum transfer.Comment: 16 Pages, LaTex, 7 figures, talk given at NANP 2003, Dubna, Russia,
June 23, 200