190 research outputs found
On the Viability of Minimal Neutrinophilic Two-Higgs-Doublet Models
We study the constraints that electroweak precision data can impose, after
the discovery of the Higgs boson by the LHC, on neutrinophilic
two-Higgs-doublet models which comprise one extra doublet
and a new symmetry, namely a spontaneously broken or a softly
broken global . In these models the extra Higgs doublet, via its very
small vacuum expectation value, is the sole responsible for neutrino masses. We
find that the model with a symmetry is basically ruled out by
electroweak precision data, even if the model is slightly extended to include
extra right-handed neutrinos, due to the presence of a very light scalar. While
the other model is still perfectly viable, the parameter space is considerably
constrained by current data, specially by the parameter. In particular, the
new charged and neutral scalars must have very similar masses.Comment: 22 pages, 3 figures, references and comments added, conclusions
unchanged, matches version to appear in JHE
Bulk Neutrinos as an Alternative Cause of the Gallium and Reactor Anti-neutrino Anomalies
We consider an alternative explanation for the deficit of nu_e in Ga solar
neutrino calibration experiments and of the anti nu_e in short baseline reactor
experiments by a model where neutrinos can oscillate into sterile Kaluza-Klein
modes that can propagate in compactified sub-micrometer flat extra dimensions.
We have analyzed the results of the Gallium radioactive source experiments and
19 reactor experiments with baseline shorter than 100 m, and showed that these
data can be fitted into this scenario. The values of the lightest neutrino mass
and of the size of the largest extra dimension that are compatible with these
experiments are mostly not excluded by other neutrino oscillation experiments.Comment: matches PRD version, title changed, 7 pages, 2 figure
Determining Neutrino Mass Hierarchy by Precision Measurements in Electron and Muon Neutrino Disappearance Experiments
Recently a new method for determining the neutrino mass hierarchy by
comparing the effective values of the atmospheric \Delta m^2 measured in the
electron neutrino disappearance channel, \Delta m^2(ee), with the one measured
in the muon neutrino disappearance channel, \Delta m^2(\mu \mu), was proposed.
If \Delta m^2(ee) is larger (smaller) than \Delta m^2(\mu \mu) the hierarchy is
of the normal (inverted) type. We re-examine this proposition in the light of
two very high precision measurements: \Delta m^2(\mu \mu) that may be
accomplished by the phase II of the Tokai-to-Kamioka (T2K) experiment, for
example, and \Delta m^2(ee) that can be envisaged using the novel Mossbauer
enhanced resonant \bar\nu_e absorption technique. Under optimistic assumptions
for the systematic uncertainties of both measurements, we estimate the
parameter region of (\theta_13, \delta) in which the mass hierarchy can be
determined. If \theta_13 is relatively large, sin^2 2\theta_13 \gsim 0.05, and
both of \Delta m^2(ee) and \Delta m^2(\mu \mu) can be measured with the
precision of \sim 0.5 % it is possible to determine the neutrino mass hierarchy
at > 95% CL for 0.3 \pi \lsim \delta \lsim 1.7 \pi for the current best fit
values of all the other oscillation parameters.Comment: 12 pages, 6 postscript figure
A Reanalysis of the LSND Neutrino Oscillation Experiment
We reanalyse the LSND neutrino oscillation results in the framework of the
Projected Quasiparticle Random Phase Approximation (PQRPA), which is the only
RPA model that treats the Pauli Principle correctly, and accounts
satisfactorily for great majority of the weak decay observables around 12C. We
have found that the employment of the PQRPA inclusive DIF 12C(nu_e,e-)12N
cross-section, instead of the CRPA used by the LSND collaboration in the (nu_mu
->nu_e) oscillations study of the 1993-1995 data sample, leads to the
following: 1) the oscillation probability is increased from (0.26 +/- 0.10 +/-
0.05) percents to (0.33 +/- 0.10 +/- 0.13) percents, and 2) the previously
found consistence between the (sin^2 2theta, Delta m^2) confidence level
regions for the (nu_mu -> nu_e) and the (bar{nu}_mu -> bar{nu}_e) oscillations
is significantly diminished. These effects are not due to the difference in the
uncertainty ranges for the neutrino-nucleus cross-section, but to the
difference in the cross-sections themselves.Comment: REVTEX4, 14 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Lett.
A Rationale for Long-lived Quarks and Leptons at the LHC: Low Energy Flavour Theory
In the framework of gauged flavour symmetries, new fermions in parity
symmetric representations of the standard model are generically needed for the
compensation of mixed anomalies. The key point is that their masses are also
protected by flavour symmetries and some of them are expected to lie way below
the flavour symmetry breaking scale(s), which has to occur many orders of
magnitude above the electroweak scale to be compatible with the available data
from flavour changing neutral currents and CP violation experiments. We argue
that, actually, some of these fermions would plausibly get masses within the
LHC range. If they are taken to be heavy quarks and leptons, in
(bi)-fundamental representations of the standard model symmetries, their
mixings with the light ones are strongly constrained to be very small by
electroweak precision data. The alternative chosen here is to exactly forbid
such mixings by breaking of flavour symmetries into an exact discrete symmetry,
the so-called proton-hexality, primarily suggested to avoid proton decay. As a
consequence of the large value needed for the flavour breaking scale, those
heavy particles are long-lived and rather appropriate for the current and
future searches at the LHC for quasi-stable hadrons and leptons. In fact, the
LHC experiments have already started to look for them.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figur
Quantum Dissipative Effects and Neutrinos : current constraints and future perspectives
We establish the most stringent experimental constraints coming from recent
terrestrial neutrino experiments on quantum mechanical decoherence effects in
neutrino systems. Taking a completely phenomenological approach, we probe
vacuum oscillations plus quantum decoherence between two neutrino species in
the channels , and , admitting that the quantum decoherence parameter is related
to the neutrino energy as : ,
with and 2. Our bounds are valid for a neutrino mass squared
difference compatible with the atmospheric, the solar and, in many cases, the
LSND scale. We also qualitatively discuss the perspectives of the future long
baseline neutrino experiments to further probe quantum dissipation.Comment: 26 pages, 8 encapsulated postscript figure
Measuring the Spectra of High Energy Neutrinos with a Kilometer-Scale Neutrino Telescope
We investigate the potential of a future kilometer-scale neutrino telescope
such as the proposed IceCube detector in the South Pole, to measure and
disentangle the yet unknown components of the cosmic neutrino flux, the prompt
atmospheric neutrinos coming from the decay of charmed particles and the
extra-galactic neutrinos, in the 10 TeV to 1 EeV energy range.
Assuming a power law type spectra,
, we quantify the discriminating
power of the IceCube detector and discuss how well we can determine magnitude
() as well as slope () of these two components of the high
energy neutrino spectrum, taking into account the background coming from the
conventional atmospheric neutrinos.Comment: 21 pages, 7 figure
Determination of the Parity of the Neutral Pion via the Four-Electron Decay
We present a new determination of the parity of the neutral pion via the
double Dalitz decay pi^0 -> e+ e- e+ e-. Our sample, which consists of 30511
candidate decays, was collected from K_L -> pi0 pi0 pi0 decays in flight at the
KTeV-E799 experiment at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. We confirm the
negative pi^0 parity, and place a limit on scalar contributions to the pi^0 ->
e+ e- e+ e- decay amplitude of less than 3.3% assuming CPT conservation. The
pi^0 gamma* gamma* form factor is well described by a momentum-dependent model
with a slope parameter fit to the final state phase space distribution.
Additionally, we have measured the branching ratio of this mode to be B(pi^0 ->
e+ e- e+ e-) = (3.26 +- 0.18) x 10^(-5).Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures. Typographical error in radiative branching ratio
(Eq. 6) correcte
Detailed Study of the KL -> 3pi0 Dalitz Plot
Using a sample of 68 million KL -> 3pi0 decays collected in 1996-1999 by the
KTeV (E832) experiment at Fermilab, we present a detailed study of the KL ->
3pi0 Dalitz plot density. We report the first observation of interference from
KL->pi+pi-pi0 decays in which pi+pi- rescatters to 2pi0 in a final-state
interaction. This rescattering effect is described by the Cabibbo-Isidori
model, and it depends on the difference in pion scattering lengths between the
isospin I=0 and I=2 states, a0-a2. Using the Cabibbo-Isidori model, we present
the first measurement of the KL-> 3pi0 quadratic slope parameter that accounts
for the rescattering effect.Comment: accepted by Phys. Rev
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