9,055 research outputs found
Resolving parameter degeneracies in long-baseline experiments by atmospheric neutrino data
In this work we show that the physics reach of a long-baseline (LBL) neutrino
oscillation experiment based on a superbeam and a megaton water Cherenkov
detector can be significantly increased if the LBL data are combined with data
from atmospheric neutrinos (ATM) provided by the same detector. ATM data are
sensitive to the octant of and to the type of the neutrino mass
hierarchy, mainly through three-flavor effects in e-like events. This allows to
resolve the so-called - and sign()-parameter
degeneracies in LBL data. As a consequence it becomes possible to distinguish
the normal from the inverted neutrino mass ordering at CL from a
combined LBL+ATM analysis if . The potential
to identify the true values of and the CP-phase
is significantly increased through the lifting of the
degeneracies. These claims are supported by a detailed simulation of the T2K
(phase II) LBL experiment combined with a full three-flavor analysis of ATM
data in the HyperKamiokande detector.Comment: 25 pages, 10 figure
Chemical characterisation of atmospheric aerosols during a 2007 summer field campaign at Brasschaat, Belgium : sources and source processes of biogenic secondary organic aerosol
Measurements of organic marker compounds and inorganic species were performed on PM2.5 aerosols from a Belgian forest site that is severely impacted by urban pollution ("De Inslag", Brasschaat, Belgium) during a 2007 summer period within the framework of the "Formation mechanisms, marker compounds, and source apportionment for biogenic atmospheric aerosols (BIOSOL)" project. The measured organic species included (i) low-molecular weight (MW) dicarboxylic acids (LMW DCAs), (ii) methanesulfonate (MSA), (iii) terpenoic acids originating from the oxidation of alpha-pinene, beta-pinene, d-limonene and Delta(3)-carene, and (iv) organosulfates related to secondary organic aerosol from the oxidation of isoprene and alpha-pinene. The organic tracers explained, on average, 5.3% of the organic carbon (OC), of which 0.7% was due to MSA, 3.4% to LMW DCAs, 0.6% to organosulfates, and 0.6% to terpenoic acids. The highest atmospheric concentrations of most species were observed during the first five days of the campaign, which were characterised by maximum day-time temperatures >22 degrees C. Most of the terpenoic acids and the organosulfates peaked during day-time, consistent with their local photochemical origin. High concentrations of 3-methyl-1,2,3-butanetricarboxylic acid (MBTCA) and low concentrations of cis-pinonic acid were noted during the first five days of the campaign, indicative of an aged biogenic aerosol. Several correlations between organic species were very high (r>0.85), high (0.70.7) and showed an Arrhenius-type relationship, consistent with their formation through OH radical chemistry
Early Science with the Large Millimeter Telescope: an energy-driven wind revealed by massive molecular and fast X-ray outflows in the Seyfert Galaxy IRAS 17020+4544
We report on the coexistence of powerful gas outflows observed in millimeter
and X-ray data of the Radio-Loud Narrow Line Seyfert 1 Galaxy IRAS 17020+4544.
Thanks to the large collecting power of the Large Millimeter Telescope, a
prominent line arising from the 12CO(1-0) transition was revealed in recent
observations of this source. The complex profile is composed by a narrow
double-peak line and a broad wing. While the double-peak structure may be
arising in a disk of molecular material, the broad wing is interpreted as the
signature of a massive outflow of molecular gas with an approximate bulk
velocity of -660 km/s. This molecular wind is likely associated to a
multi-component X-ray Ultra-Fast Outflow with velocities reaching up to ~0.1c
and column densities in the range 10^{21-23.9} cm^-2 that was reported in the
source prior to the LMT observations. The momentum load estimated in the two
gas phases indicates that within the observational uncertainties the outflow is
consistent with being propagating through the galaxy and sweeping up the gas
while conserving its energy. This scenario, which has been often postulated as
a viable mechanism of how AGN feedback takes place, has so far been observed
only in ULIRGs sources. IRAS 17020+4544 with bolometric and infrared luminosity
respectively of 5X10^{44} erg/s and 1.05X10^{11} L_sun appears to be an example
of AGN feedback in a NLSy1 Galaxy (a low power AGN). New proprietary
multi-wavelength data recently obtained on this source will allow us to
corroborate the proposed hypothesis.Comment: Accepted for publication on ApJ Letters, 9 pages, 4 figure
Lepton Flavor Violation and the Origin of the Seesaw Mechanism
The right--handed neutrino mass matrix that is central to the understanding
of small neutrino masses via the seesaw mechanism can arise either (i) from
renormalizable operators or (ii) from nonrenormalizable or super-renormalizable
operators, depending on the symmetries and the Higgs content of the theory
beyond the Standard Model. In this paper, we study lepton flavor violating
(LFV) effects in the first class of seesaw models wherein the \nu_R Majorana
masses arise from renormalizable Yukawa couplings involving a B-L = 2 Higgs
field. We present detailed predictions for \tau -> \mu + \gamma and \mu -> e +
\gamma branching ratios in these models taking the current neutrino oscillation
data into account. Focusing on minimal supergravity models, we find that for a
large range of MSSM parameters suggested by the relic abundance of neutralino
dark matter and that is consistent with Higgs boson mass and other constraints,
these radiative decays are in the range accessible to planned experiments. We
compare these predictions with lepton flavor violation in the second class of
models arising entirely from the Dirac Yukawa couplings. We study the
dependence of the ratio r \equiv B(\mu -> e+\gamma)/B(\tau ->\mu +\gamma) on
the MSSM parameters and show that measurement of r can provide crucial insight
into the origin of the seesaw mechanism.Comment: 20 pages, Revtex, 7 figure
Three Generation Neutrino Oscillation Parameters after SNO
We examine the solar neutrino problem in the context of the realistic three
neutrino mixing scenario including the SNO charged current (CC) rate. The two
independent mass squared differences and are taken to be in the solar and atmospheric ranges
respectively. We incorporate the constraints on m as obtained
by the SuperKamiokande atmospheric neutrino data and determine the allowed
values of , and from a combined
analysis of solar and CHOOZ data. Our aim is to probe the changes in the values
of the mass and mixing parameters with the inclusion of the SNO data as well as
the changes in the two-generation parameter region obtained from the solar
neutrino analysis with the inclusion of the third generation. We find that the
inclusion of the SNO CC rate in the combined solar + CHOOZ analysis puts a more
restrictive bound on . Since the allowed values of
are constrained to very small values by the CHOOZ experiment there is no
qualitative change over the two generation allowed regions in the plane. The best-fit comes in the LMA region and
no allowed area is obtained in the SMA region at 3 level from combined
solar and CHOOZ analysis.Comment: One reference added. Version to apprear in PR
Long-path averaged mixing ratios of O<sub>3</sub> and NO<sub>2</sub> in the free troposphere from mountain MAX-DOAS
A new approximation is proposed to estimate O3 and NO2 mixing
ratios in the northern subtropical free troposphere (FT). The proposed
method uses O4 slant column densities (SCDs) at horizontal and
near-zenith geometries to estimate a station-level differential path. The
modified geometrical approach (MGA) is a simple method that takes advantage
of a very long horizontal path to retrieve mixing ratios in the
range of a few pptv. The methodology is presented, and the possible
limitations are discussed. Multi-axis differential optical absorption
spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) high-mountain measurements recorded at the
Izaña observatory (28° 18' N, 16° 29' W)
are used in this study. The results show that under low aerosol loading,
O3 and NO2 mixing ratios can be retrieved even at very low
concentrations. The obtained mixing ratios are compared with those provided
by in situ instrumentation at the observatory. The MGA reproduces the
O3 mixing ratio measured by the in situ instrumentation with a
difference of 28%. The different air masses scanned by each instrument
are identified as a cause of the discrepancy between the O3 observed by
MAX-DOAS and the in situ measurements. The NO2 is in the range of 20–40 ppt,
which is below the detection limit of the in situ instrumentation, but
it is in agreement with measurements from previous studies for similar
conditions
Status of four-neutrino mass schemes: a global and unified approach to current neutrino oscillation data
We present a unified global analysis of neutrino oscillation data within the
framework of the four-neutrino mass schemes (3+1) and (2+2). We include all
data from solar and atmospheric neutrino experiments, as well as information
from short-baseline experiments including LSND. If we combine only solar and
atmospheric neutrino data, (3+1) schemes are clearly preferred, whereas
short-baseline data in combination with atmospheric data prefers (2+2) models.
When combining all data in a global analysis the (3+1) mass scheme gives a
slightly better fit than the (2+2) case, though all four-neutrino schemes are
presently acceptable. The LSND result disfavors the three-active neutrino
scenario with only and at 99.9% CL with
respect to the four-neutrino best fit model. We perform a detailed analysis of
the goodness of fit to identify which sub-set of the data is in disagreement
with the best fit solution in a given mass scheme.Comment: 32 pages, 8 Figures included, REVTeX4.Improved discussion in sec. XI,
references added, version accepted by Phys. Rev.
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