0000000000125433
AUTHOR
Porfidio Hernández
On the measurement of leptonic CP violation
We show that the simultaneous determination of the leptonic CP-odd phase $\delta$ and the angle $\theta_{13}$ from the subleading transitions $\nu_e\to\nu_\mu$ and ${\bar\nu}_e\to{\bar\nu}_\mu$ results generically, at fixed neutrino energy and baseline, in two degenerate solutions. In light of this, we refine a previous analysis of the sensitivity to leptonic CP violation at a neutrino factory, in the LMA-MSW scenario, by exploring the full range of $\delta$ and $\theta_{13}$. Furthermore, we take into account the expected uncertainties on the solar and atmospheric oscillation parameters and in the average Earth matter density along the neutrino path. An intermediate baseline of O(3000) km …
A Wilson-Yukawa Model with undoubled chiral fermions in 2D
We consider the fermion spectrum in the strong coupling vortex phase of a lattice fermion-scalar model with a global $U(1)_L\times U(1)_R$, in 2D, in the context of a recently proposed two-cutoff lattice formulation. The fermion doublers are made massive by a strong Wilson-Yukawa coupling, but in contrast with the standard formulation of these models, in which the light fermion spectrum was found to be massive and vectorlike, we find massless undoubled fermions with chiral quantum numbers at finite lattice spacing. When the global symmetry is gauged, this model is expected to give rise to a chiral gauge theory.
Neutral heavy leptons and electroweak baryogenesis
We investigate the possibility that baryogenesis occurs during the weak phase transition in a minimal extension of the Standard Model which contains extra neutral leptons and conserves total lepton number. The necessary CP-violating phases appear in the leptonic Yukawa couplings. We compute the CP-asymmetries in both the neutral and the charged lepton fluxes reflected on the bubble wall. Using present experimental bounds on the mixing angles and Standard Model estimates for the parameters related to the scalar potential, we conclude that it seems unlikely to produce the observed baryon to entropy ratio within this type of models. We comment on the possibility that the constraints on the mix…
Toroidal magnetized iron neutrino detector for a neutrino factory
A neutrino factory has unparalleled physics reach for the discovery and measurement of CP violation in the neutrino sector. A far detector for a neutrino factory must have good charge identification with excellent background rejection and a large mass. An elegant solution is to construct a magnetized iron neutrino detector (MIND) along the lines of MINOS, where iron plates provide a toroidal magnetic field and scintillator planes provide 3D space points. In this paper, the current status of a simulation of a toroidal MIND for a neutrino factory is discussed in light of the recent measurements of large theta(13). The response and performance using the 10 GeV neutrino factory configuration ar…
The self-couplings of vector bosons: does LEP-1 obviate LEP-2?
Abstract Theories beyond the standard model (“meta-theories”) are severely constrained by the current body of data and must necessarily respect the standard gauge symmetry. We analyze the constraints on two generic types of meta-theory, in which fundamental scalar do or do not exist. The novel low-energy effects can be comprehensively described by grafting onto the standard lagrangian new operators that - in the sense of a Taylor expansion - form a complete set. Completeness calls for consideration of previously discarded operators, and for a thorough exploitation of the equations of motion. We illustrate the current strictures by focusing on the allowed range of departures from the most cr…
Standard Model CP-violation and Baryon asymmetry
Simply based on CP arguments, we argue against a Standard Model explanation of the baryon asymmetry of the universe in the presence of a first order phase transition. A CP-asymmetry is found in the reflection coefficients of quarks hitting the phase boundary created during the electroweak transition. The problem is analyzed both in an academic zero temperature case and in the realistic finite temperature one. The building blocks are similar in both cases: Kobayashi-Maskawa CP-violation, CP-even phases in the reflection coefficients of quarks, and physical transitions due to fermion self-energies. In both cases an effect is present at order $\alpha_W^2$ in rate. A standard GIM behaviour is f…
Summary of golden measurements at a ν-factory
The precision and discovery potential of a neutrino factory based on muon storage rings is summarized. For three-family neutrino oscillations, we analyze how to measure or severely constraint the angle $\theta_{13}$, CP violation, MSW effects and the sign of the atmospheric mass difference $\Delta m^2_{23}$. The appearance of ``wrong-sign muons'' at three reference baselines is considered: 732 km, 3500 km and 7332 km. We exploit the dependence of the signal on the neutrino energy, and include as well realistic background estimations and detection efficiencies. The optimal baseline turns out to be $O$(3000 km).
Atmospheric neutrino anomaly without maximal mixing?
We consider a pattern of neutrino masses in which there is an approximate mass degeneracy between the two mass eigenstates most coupled to the $\nu_\mu$ and $\nu_\tau$ flavour eigenstates. Earth-matter effects can lift this degeneracy and induce an effectively maximal mixing between these two generations. This occurs if $\nu_e$'s contain comparable admixtures of the degenerate eigenstates, even rather small ones. This provides an explanation of the atmospheric neutrino anomaly in which the {\it ab initio} introduction of a large mixing angle is not required. To test this possibility we perform a novel and detailed analysis of the 52 kiloton-year SuperKamiokande data, and we find that in a l…
The seesaw path to leptonic CP violation
Future experiments such as SHiP and high-intensity $e^+ e^-$ colliders will have a superb sensitivity to heavy Majorana neutrinos with masses below $M_Z$. We show that the measurement of the mixing to electrons and muons of one such state could imply the discovery of leptonic CP violation in the context of seesaw models. We quantify in the minimal model the CP discovery potential of these future experiments, and demonstrate that a 5$\sigma$ CL discovery of leptonic CP violation would be possible in a very significant fraction of parameter space.
Four species neutrino oscillations at nu-Factory: sensitivity and CP-violation
The prospects of measuring the leptonic angles and CP-odd phases at a {\em neutrino factory} are discussed in the scenario of three active plus one sterile neutrino. We consider the $\nu_\mu \raw \nu_e$ LSND signal. Its associated large mass difference leads to observable neutrino oscillations at short ($\sim 1$ km) baseline experiments. Sensitivities to the leptonic angles down to $10^{-3}$ can be easily achieved with a 1 Ton detector. Longer baseline experiments ($\sim 100$ km) with a 1 Kton detector can provide very clean tests of CP-violation especially through tau lepton detection.
N_eff in low-scale seesaw models versus the lightest neutrino mass
We evaluate the contribution to $N_{\rm eff}$ of the extra sterile states in low-scale Type I seesaw models (with three extra sterile states). We explore the full parameter space and find that at least two of the heavy states always reach thermalisation in the Early Universe, while the third one might not thermalise provided the lightest neutrino mass is below ${\mathcal O}(10^{-3}$eV). Constraints from cosmology therefore severely restrict the spectra of heavy states in the range 1eV- 100 MeV. The implications for neutrinoless double beta decay are also discussed.
Superbeam studies at CERN
Abstract A conventional low-energy neutrino beam of great intensity could be produced by the Super Proton Linac at CERN as a first stage of a Neutrino Factory. Water Cherenkov and liquid scintillator detectors are studied as possible candidates for a neutrino oscillation experiment which could improve our current knowledge of the atmospheric parameters Δmatm2, θ23 and measure or severely constrain θ13. It is also shown that a very large water detector could eventually observe leptonic CP violation.