1,241 research outputs found
Low Energy Neutrino Physics after SNO and KamLAND
In the recent years important discoveries in the field of low energy neutrino
physics (E in the MeV range) have been achieved. Results of the
solar neutrino experiment SNO show clearly flavor transitions from to
. In addition, the long standing solar neutrino problem is
basically solved. With KamLAND, an experiment measuring neutrinos emitted from
nuclear reactors at large distances, evidence for neutrino oscillations has
been found. The values for the oscillation parameters, amplitude and phase,
have been restricted. In this paper the potential of future projects in low
energy neutrino physics is discussed. This encompasses future solar and reactor
experiments as well as the direct search for neutrino masses. Finally the
potential of a large liquid scintillator detector in an underground laboratory
for supernova neutrino detection, solar neutrino detection, and the search for
proton decay is discussed.Comment: Invited brief review, World Scientific Publishing Compan
R2D2 - a symmetric measurement of reactor neutrinos free of systematical errors
We discuss a symmetric setup for a reactor neutrino oscillation experiment
consisting of two reactors separated by about 1 km, and two symmetrically
placed detectors, one close to each reactor. We show that such a configuration
allows a determination of which is essentially free of
systematical errors, if it is possible to separate the contributions of the two
reactors in each detector sufficiently. This can be achieved either by
considering data when in an alternating way only one reactor is running or by
directional sensitivity obtained from the neutron displacement in the detector.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, clarifications added, some numbers in relation
with the neutron displacement corrected, version to appear in JHE
Status of the PICASSO Project
The Picasso project is a dark matter search experiment based on the
superheated droplet technique. Preliminary runs performed at the Picasso Lab in
Montreal have showed the suitability of this detection technique to the search
for weakly interacting cold dark matter particles. In July 2002, a new phase of
the project started. A batch of six 1-liter detectors with an active mass of
approximately 40g was installed in a gallery of the SNO observatory in Sudbury,
Ontario, Canada at a depth of 6,800 feet (2,070m). We give a status report on
the new experimental setup, data analysis, and preliminary limits on
spin-dependent neutralino interaction cross section.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures. To appear in the Proceedings of the TAUP 2003
conference, 5-9 September, 2003, University of Washington, Seattle, US
Formation of convective cells in the scrape-off layer of the CASTOR tokamak
Understanding of the scrape-off layer (SOL) physics in tokamaks requires
diagnostics with sufficient temporal and spatial resolution. This contribution
describes results of experiments performed in the SOL of the CASTOR tokamak
(R=40 cm, a = 6 cm) by means of a ring of 124 Langmuir probes surrounding the
whole poloidal cross section. The individual probes measure either the ion
saturation current of the floating potential with the spatial resolution up to
3 mm. Experiments are performed in a particular magnetic configuration,
characterized by a long parallel connection length in the SOL, L_par ~q2piR. We
report on measurements in discharges, where the edge electric field is modified
by inserting a biased electrode into the edge plasma. In particular, a complex
picture is observed, if the biased electrode is located inside the SOL. The
poloidal distribution of the floating potential appears to be strongly
non-uniform at biasing. The peaks of potential are observed at particular
poloidal angles. This is interpreted as formation of a biased flux tube, which
emanates from the electrode along the magnetic field lines and snakes q times
around the torus. The resulting electric field in the SOL is 2-dimensional,
having the radial as well as the poloidal component. It is demonstrated that
the poloidal electric field E_pol convects the edge plasma radially due to the
E_pol x B_T drift either inward or outward depending on its sign. The
convective particle flux is by two orders of magnitude larger than the
fluctuation-induced one and consequently dominates.Comment: 12th International Congress on Plasma Physics, 25-29 October 2004,
Nice (France
Neutrino-oscillation experiments at the Gösgen nuclear power reactor
A search for neutrino oscillations has been conducted at the 2800-MW (thermal) nuclear power reactor in Gösgen (Switzerland), providing 5×10^20 electron antineutrinos per second. The energy spectrum of the antineutrinos was measured at three distances, 37.9, 45.9, and 64.7 m, from the reactor core. The detection of the neutrinos is based on the reaction ν¯e+p→e++n. Roughly 10^4 antineutrinos were registered at each of the three measuring positions. The measured spectra are analyzed in terms of a two-neutrino oscillation model and the results are represented as exclusion plots for the oscillation parameters Δm^2 and sin^2(2theta). Two analyses are performed: Analysis A relies exclusively on the data measured at the three different distances; analysis B combines the measured data with additional information, in particular with the reactor antineutrino spectrum as derived from independent β-spectroscopic measurements. Both analyses show that the data are consistent with the absence of neutrino oscillations, and rule out large regions of parameters (Δm2,theta). The resulting limits on the oscillation parameters are Δm^25 eV^2
Dark Matter Spin-Dependent Limits for WIMP Interactions on 19-F by PICASSO
The PICASSO experiment at SNOLAB reports new results for spin-dependent WIMP
interactions on F using the superheated droplet technique. A new
generation of detectors and new features which enable background discrimination
via the rejection of non-particle induced events are described. First results
are presented for a subset of two detectors with target masses of F of
65 g and 69 g respectively and a total exposure of 13.75 0.48 kgd. No
dark matter signal was found and for WIMP masses around 24 GeV/c new limits
have been obtained on the spin-dependent cross section on F of
= 13.9 pb (90% C.L.) which can be converted into cross section
limits on protons and neutrons of = 0.16 pb and = 2.60 pb
respectively (90% C.L). The obtained limits on protons restrict recent
interpretations of the DAMA/LIBRA annual modulations in terms of spin-dependent
interactions.Comment: Revised version, accepted for publication in Phys. Lett. B, 20 pages,
7 figure
A High Statistics Search for Electron-Neutrino --> Tau-Neutrino Oscillations
We present new limits on nu_e to nu_tau and nu_e to nu_sterile oscillations
by searching for electron neutrino dissappearance in the high-energy wide-band
CCFR neutrino beam. Sensitivity to nu_tau appearance comes from tau decay modes
in which a large fraction of the energy deposited is electromagnetic. The beam
is composed primarily of muon neutrinos but this analysis uses the 2.3%
electron neutrino component of the beam. Electron neutrino energies range from
30 to 600 GeV and flight lengths vary from 0.9 to 1.4 km. This limit improves
the sensitivity of existing limits and obtains a lowest 90% confidence upper
limit in sin**2(2*alpha) of 9.9 x 10**(-2) at delta-m**2 of 125 eV**2.Comment: submitted to Phys. Rev. D. Rapid Com
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