120 research outputs found
Measuring Active-Sterile Neutrino Oscillations with a Stopped Pion Neutrino Source
The question of the existence of light sterile neutrinos is of great interest
in many areas of particle physics, astrophysics, and cosmology. Furthermore,
should the MiniBooNE experiment at Fermilab confirm the LSND oscillation
signal, then new measurements are required to identify the mechanism
responsible for these oscillations. Possibilities include sterile neutrinos, CP
or CPT violation, variable mass neutrinos, Lorentz violation, and extra
dimensions. In this paper, we consider an experiment at a stopped pion neutrino
source to determine if active-sterile neutrino oscillations with delta-m
greater than 0.1 eV2 can account for the signal. By exploiting stopped pi+
decay to produce a monoenergetic nu_mu source, and measuring the rate of the
neutral current reaction nu_x + 12C -> nu_x +12C* as a function of distance
from the source, we show that a convincing test for active-sterile neutrino
oscillations can be performed.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figure
Supernova neutrino three-flavor evolution with dominant collective effects
Neutrino and antineutrino fluxes from a core-collapse galactic supernova are
studied, within a representative three-flavor scenario with inverted mass
hierarchy and tiny 1-3 mixing. The initial flavor evolution is dominated by
collective self-interaction effects, which are computed in a full three-family
framework along an averaged radial trajectory. During the whole time span
considered (t=1-20 s), neutrino and antineutrino spectral splits emerge as
dominant features in the energy domain for the final, observable fluxes. Some
minor or unobservable three-family features (e.g., related to the
muonic-tauonic flavor sector) are also discussed for completeness. The main
results can be useful for SN event rate simulations in specific detectors.Comment: 22 pages, including 9 figures (1 section with 3 figures added).
Accepted for publication in JCA
The key role of interband transitions in hot-electron-modulated TiN films
Titanium nitride (TiN) is an emerging new material in the field of plasmonics, both for its linear and nonlinear optical properties. Similarly to noble metals, like, e.g., gold (Au), the giant third-order optical nonlinearity of TiN following excitation with fs-laser pulses has been attributed to the generation of hot electrons. Here we provide a numerical study of the Fermi smearing mechanism associated with photogenerated hot carriers and subsequent interband transitions modulation in TiN films. A detailed comparison with Au films is also provided, and saturation effects of the permittivity modulation for increasing pump fluence are discussed
Supernova Neutrino Oscillations
Observing a high-statistics neutrino signal from a galactic supernova (SN)
would allow one to test the standard delayed explosion scenario and may allow
one to distinguish between the normal and inverted neutrino mass ordering due
to the effects of flavor oscillations in the SN envelope. One may even observe
a signature of SN shock-wave propagation in the detailed time-evolution of the
neutrino spectra. A clear identification of flavor oscillation effects in a
water Cherenkov detector probably requires a megatonne-class experiment.Comment: Proc. 129 Nobel Symposium "Neutrino Physics", 19-24 Aug 2004, Swede
Mini Z' Burst from Relic Supernova Neutrinos and Late Neutrino Masses
In models in which neutrinos are light, due to a low scale of symmetry
breaking, additional light bosons are generically present. We show that the
interaction between diffuse relic supernova neutrinos (RSN) and the cosmic
background neutrinos, via exchange of these light scalars, can result in a
dramatic change of the supernova (SN) neutrinos flux. Measurement of this
effect with current or future experiments can provide a spectacular direct
evidence for the low scale models. We demonstrate how the observation of
neutrinos from SN1987A constrains the symmetry breaking scale of the above
models. We also discuss how current and future experiments may confirm or
further constrain the above models, either by detecting the ``accumulative
resonance'' that diffuse RSN go through or via a large suppression of the flux
of neutrinos from nearby < O(Mpc) SN bursts.Comment: 24 pages, 8 figures, version to be published in JHE
Synthesis of plasmonic gold nanoparticles on soft materials for biomedical applications
Plasmonic metal nanomaterials are usually supported by rigid substrates, typically made of silicon or glass. Recently, there has been growing interest in developing soft plasmonic devices. Such devices are low weight, low cost, exhibit elevated flexibility and improved mechanical properties. Moreover, they maintain the features of conventional nano-optic structures, such as the ability to enhance the local electromagnetic field. On account of these characteristics, they show promise as efficient biosensors in biological, medical, and bio-engineering applications. Here, we demonstrate the fabrication of soft polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) plasmonic devices. Using a combination of techniques, including electroless deposition, we patterned thin membranes of PDMS with arrays of gold nanoparticle clusters. Resulting devices show regular patterns of gold nanoparticles extending over several hundreds of microns and are moderately hydrophilic, with a contact angle of about 80°. At the nanoscale, scanning electron and atomic force microscopy of samples reveal an average particle size of âŒ50 nm. The nanoscopic size of the particles, along with their random distribution in a cluster, promotes the enhancement of electromagnetic fields, evidenced by numerical simulations and experiments. Mechanical characterization and the stress-strain relationship indicate that the device has a stiffness of 2.8 MPa. In biological immunoassay tests, the device correctly identified and detected anti-human immunoglobulins G (IgG) in solution with a concentration of 25 ÎŒg/ml
Supernova neutrino oscillations: what do we understand?
We summarize our current understanding of the neutrino flavor conversions
inside a core collapse supernova, clarifying the important role played by the
"collective effects" in determining flavor conversion probabilities. The
potentially observable and spectra may help us identify
the neutrino mixing scenario, distinguish between primary flux models, and
learn more about the supernova explosion.Comment: 6 pages, 1 eps figure, jpconf.cls used. Talk given at TAUP 2009,
Rome, July 200
The neutrino signal at HALO: learning about the primary supernova neutrino fluxes and neutrino properties
Core-collapse supernova neutrinos undergo a variety of phenomena when they
travel from the high neutrino density region and large matter densities to the
Earth. We perform analytical calculations of the supernova neutrino fluxes
including collective effects due to the neutrino-neutrino interactions, the
Mikheev-Smirnov-Wolfenstein (MSW) effect due to the neutrino interactions with
the background matter and decoherence of the wave packets as they propagate in
space. We predict the numbers of one- and two-neutron charged and
neutral-current electron-neutrino scattering on lead events. We show that, due
to the energy thresholds, the ratios of one- to two-neutron events are
sensitive to the pinching parameters of neutrino fluxes at the neutrinosphere,
almost independently of the presently unknown neutrino properties. Besides,
such events have an interesting sensitivity to the spectral split features that
depend upon the presence/absence of energy equipartition among neutrino
flavors. Our calculations show that a lead-based observatory like the Helium
And Lead Observatory (HALO) has the potential to pin down important
characteristics of the neutrino fluxes at the neutrinosphere, and provide us
with information on the neutrino transport in the supernova core.Comment: 30 pages, 12 figures, 6 tables, minor correction
Physics potential of future supernova neutrino observations
We point out possible features of neutrino spectra from a future galactic
core collapse supernova that will enhance our understanding of neutrino mixing
as well as supernova astrophysics. We describe the neutrino flavor conversions
inside the star, emphasizing the role of "collective effects" that has been
appreciated and understood only very recently. These collective effects change
the traditional predictions of flavor conversion substantially, and enable the
identification of neutrino mixing scenarios through signatures like Earth
matter effects.Comment: 8 pages, uses jpconf.cls. Talk given at Neutrino 2008, Christchurch,
NZ. Some entries in Table 2 have been correcte
Collective neutrino flavor transitions in supernovae and the role of trajectory averaging
Non-linear effects on supernova neutrino oscillations, associated with
neutrino self-interactions, are known to induce collective flavor transitions
near the supernova core for theta_13 \neq 0. In scenarios with very shallow
electron density profiles, these transformations have been shown to couple with
ordinary matter effects, jointly producing spectral distortions both in normal
and inverted hierarchy. In this work we consider a complementary scenario,
characterized by higher electron density, as indicated by post-bounce
shock-wave simulations. In this case, early collective flavor transitions are
decoupled from later, ordinary matter effects. Moreover, such transitions
become more amenable to both numerical computations and analytical
interpretations in inverted hierarchy, while they basically vanish in normal
hierarchy. We numerically evolve the neutrino density matrix in the region
relevant for self-interaction effects. In the approximation of averaged
intersection angle between neutrino trajectories, our simulations neatly show
the collective phenomena of synchronization, bipolar oscillations, and spectral
split, recently discussed in the literature. In the more realistic (but
computationally demanding) case of non-averaged neutrino trajectories, our
simulations do not show new significant features, apart from the smearing of
``fine structures'' such as bipolar nutations. Our results seem to suggest
that, at least for non-shallow matter density profiles, averaging over neutrino
trajectories plays a minor role in the final outcome. In this case, the swap of
nu_e and nu_{\mu,\tau} spectra above a critical energy may represent an
unmistakable signature of the inverted hierarchy, especially for theta_{13}
small enough to render further matter effects irrelevant.Comment: v2 (27 pages, including 9 eps figures). Typos removed, references
updated. Minor comments added. Corrected numerical errors in Eq.(6). Matches
the published versio
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