Self-Calibration of Neutrino Detectors using characteristic Backgrounds

We introduce the possibility to use characteristic natural neutrino backgrounds, such as Geoneutrinos (\bar{\nu}_e) or solar neutrinos (\nu_e), with known spectral shape for the energy calibration of future neutrino detectors, e.g. Large Liquid Scintillator Detectors. This "CalEffect" could be used without the need to apply any modifications to the experiment in all situations where one has a suitable background with sufficient statistics. After deriving the effect analytically using \chi^2 statistics, we show that it is only tiny for reactor neutrino experiments, but can be applicable in other situations. As an example, we present its impact on the identification of the wiggles in the power spectrum of supernova neutrinos caused by Earth matter effects. The Self-Calibration Effect could be used for cross checking other calibration methods and to resolve systematical effects in the primary neutrino interaction processes, in particular in the low energy cross sections.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

Production of doubly charged scalars from the decay of singly charged scalars in the Higgs Triplet Model

The existence of doubly charged Higgs bosons (H^{\pm\pm}) is a distinctive feature of the Higgs Triplet Model (HTM), in which neutrinos obtain tree-level masses from the vacuum expectation value of a neutral scalar in a triplet representation of SU(2)_L. We point out that a large branching ratio for the decay of a singly charged Higgs boson to a doubly charged Higgs boson via H^\pm\to H^{\pm\pm}W^* is possible in a sizeable parameter space of the HTM. From the production mechanism q'qbar\to W^* \to H^{\pm\pm}H^\mp the above decay mode would give rise to pair production of H^{\pm\pm}, with a cross section which can be comparable to that of the standard pair-production mechanism qqbar\to \gamma^*,Z^* \to H^{++}H^{--}. We suggest that the presence of a sizeable branching ratio for H^\pm\to H^{\pm\pm}W^* could significantly enhance the detection prospects of H^{\pm\pm} in the four-lepton channel. Moreover, the decays H^0\to H^\pm W^* and A^0\to H^\pm W^* from production of the neutral triplet scalars H^0 and A^0 would also provide an additional source of H^\pm, which can subsequently decay to H^{\pm\pm}.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, two figures added in v2, to appear in Physical Review

Which solar neutrino data favour the LMA solution?

Assuming neutrino oscillations, global analyses of solar data find that the LOW solution is significantly disfavoured, leaving LMA as the best solution. But the preference for LMA rests on three weak hints: the spectrum of earth matter effects (Super-Kamiokande sees an overall day/night asymmetry only at 1 sigma), the Cl rate (but LMA and LOW predictions are both above the measured value), the Ga rate (newer data decrease towards the LOW predictions both in GNO and SAGE). Only new data will tell us if LMA is the true solution.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Leptonic CP Violation Search and the Ambiguity of dm^2_31

We consider a search for the CP-violating angle deltaCP in long baseline neutrino oscillation experiments. We show that the subleading deltaCP-dependent terms in the nu_mu -> nu_e oscillation probability can be easily obscured by the ambiguity of the leading term which depends on |dm^2_31|. It is thus necessary to determine the value of dm^2_31 with a sufficient accuracy. The nu_mu survival events, which can be accumulated simultaneously with the nu_e appearance events, can serve for this purpose owing to its large statistics. Therefore, the combined analysis of nu_e appearance and nu_mu survival events is crucial to provide a restrictive constraint on deltaCP. Taking a test experimental setup, we demonstrate in the deltaCP-dm^2_31 plane that the analysis of nu_e appearance events leads to less restrictive constraints on the value of deltaCP due to the ambiguity of dm^2_31 and that the combined analysis efficiently improves the constraints.Comment: ReVTeX file, 9 pages, 7 figures. Discussions added in Sections 1, 2, and 4; Reference expande

Probing Majorana neutrinos in rare K and D, D_s, B, B_c meson decays

We study lepton number violating decays of charged K, D, D_s, B and B_c mesons of the form M^+\to {M'}^-\ell^+\ell^+, induced by the existence of Majorana neutrinos. These processes provide information complementary to neutrinoless double nuclear beta decays, and are sensitive to neutrino masses and lepton mixing. We explore neutrino mass ranges m_N from below 1 eV to several hundred GeV. We find that in many cases the branching ratios are prohibitively small, however in the intermediate range m_\pi < m_N < m_{B_c}, in specific channels and for specific neutrino masses, the branching ratios can be at the reach of high luminosity experiments like those at the LHC-b and future Super flavor-factories, and can provide bounds on the lepton mixing parameters.Comment: 25 page

On Probing theta_{23} in Neutrino Telescopes

Among all neutrino mixing parameters, the atmospheric neutrino mixing angle theta_{23} introduces the strongest variation on the flux ratios of ultra high energy neutrinos. We investigate the potential of these flux ratio measurements at neutrino telescopes to constrain theta_{23}. We consider astrophysical neutrinos originating from pion, muon-damped and neutron sources and make a comparative study of their sensitivity reach to theta_{23}. It is found that neutron sources are most favorable for testing deviations from maximal theta_{23}. Using a chi^2 analysis, we show in particular the power of combining (i) different flux ratios from the same type of source, and also (ii) combining flux ratios from different astrophysical sources. We include in our analysis ``impure'' sources, i.e., deviations from the usually assumed initial (1 : 2 : 0), (0 : 1 : 0) or (1 : 0 : 0) flux compositions.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figures. Added discussion on experimental errors. To appear in PR