0000000001020635
AUTHOR
J. D. Vergados
Hunt for θ13with LENA
In a hunt for by far missing neutrino mixing angle ?13 the accelerator experiments have recently indicated non-zero value and the dedicated reactor neutrino experiments are moving towards the data-taking phase to confirm that. The small effect of ?13 to the neutrino oscillation probabilities can be also complementarily probed using artificially made source of mono-chromatic neutrinos with low energies originated from electron capture processes. Due to the small energy of neutrino and tiny interaction cross section, and the expected scale of ?13 support the use of large liquid scintillation detector. In this work, the estimated sensitivities for measurement of mixing angle ?13 is presented i…
The next-generation liquid-scintillator neutrino observatory LENA
We propose the liquid-scintillator detector LENA (Low Energy Neutrino Astronomy) as a next-generation neutrino observatory on the scale of 50 kt. The outstanding successes of the Borexino and KamLAND experiments demonstrate the large potential of liquid-scintillator detectors in low-energy neutrino physics. LENA's physics objectives comprise the observation of astrophysical and terrestrial neutrino sources as well as the investigation of neutrino oscillations. In the GeV energy range, the search for proton decay and long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments complement the low-energy program. Based on the considerable expertise present in European and international research groups, the …
Estimating the flux of the 14.4 keV solar axions
In this paper we present a calculation of the expected flux of the mono-energetic 14.4 keV solar axions emitted by the M1 type nuclear transition of $^{57}$Fe in the Sun. These axions can be detected, e.g., by inverse coherent Bragg-Primakoff conversion in single-crystal TeO$_2$ bolometers. The ingredients of this calculation are i) the axion nucleon coupling, estimated in several popular axion models and ii)the nuclear spin matrix elements involving realistic shell model calculations with both proton and neutron excitations. For the benefit of the experiments we have also calculated the branching ratio involving axion and photon emission
Inelastic WIMP-nucleus scattering to the first excited state in125Te
The direct detection of dark matter constituents, in particular the weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), is considered central to particle physics and cosmology. In this paper we study transitions to the excited states, possible in some nuclei, which have sufficiently low lying excited states. Examples considered previously were the first excited states of $^{127}$I and $^{129}$Xe and $^{83}$Kr. Here we examine $^{125}$Te, which offers some advantages and is currently being considered as a target.In all these cases the extra signature of the gamma rays following the de-excitation of these states has definite advantages over the purely nuclear recoil and, in principle, such a signat…
Theoretical direct WIMP detection rates for transitions to the first excited state inKr83
The direct detection of dark matter constituents, in particular the weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), is central to particle physics and cosmology. In this paper we study transitions to the excited states, possible in some nuclei, which have sufficiently low lying excited states. Examples considered previously were the first excited states of $^{127}\mathrm{I}$ and $^{129}\mathrm{Xe}$. We examine here $^{83}\mathrm{Kr}$, which offers some kinematical advantages and is a possible target. We estimate appreciable rates for the inelastic scattering mediated by the spin cross sections, with an inelastic event rate of $4.4\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}4}\text{ …
Theoretical direct WIMP detection rates for transitions to nuclear excited states
The recent WMAP and Planck data have confirmed that exotic dark matter together with the vacuum energy (cosmological constant) dominate in the flat Universe. Many extensions of the standard model provide dark matter candidates, in particular Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs). Thus the direct dark matter detection is central to particle physics and cosmology. Most of the research on this issue has hitherto focused on the detection of the recoiling nucleus. In this paper we study transitions to the excited states, possible in some nuclei, which have sufficiently low lying excited states. Examples considered previously were the first excited states of $^{127}$I and $^{129}$Xe. We ex…
Coherent and incoherent (μ−, e−) conversion in nuclei
Coherent and incoherent (μ−, e−) conversion in nuclei is studied within the framework of several theories which violate flavour lepton number. A useful approach is followed which allows a factorization of the conversion widths into nuclear factors and other factors which depend only on the elementary process. The nuclear factors are evaluated in a wide range of nuclei allowing simple calculations of the conversion rates throughout the periodic table for a given theory with a minimum of work in the elementary sector. The coherent conversion is found to dominate the process. The results obtained modify appreciable previous results in the literature, particularly in the incoherent process.
Neutrino oscillometry at the next generation neutrino observatory
The large next generation liquid-scintillator detector LENA (Low Energy Neutrino Astronomy) offers an excellent opportunity for neutrino oscillometry. The characteristic spatial pattern of very low monoenergetic neutrino disappearance from artificial radioactive sources can be detected within the long length of detector. Sufficiently strong sources of more than 1 MCi activity can be produced at nuclear reactors. Oscillometry will provide a unique tool for precise determination of the mixing parameters for both active and sterile neutrinos within the broad mass region 0.01 - 2 (eV)^2. LENA can be considered as a versatile tool for a careful investigation of neutrino oscillations.