Search

We propose to study atmospheric neutrino interactions with a unique event topology to distinguish neutrinos and anti-neutrinos using a liquid argon time projection chamber in an experiment such as DUNE. The detection of CC1P and CC0P events will allow to access neutrino oscillation physics complementary to accelerator based beam neutrinos. Our analysis shows that a sensitivity to the mass-ordering can be achieved with a significance close to 4{\sigma} and a CP violation sensitivity with more than 2{\sigma} with a data sample of 140 kt-yr of atmospheric neutrinos in the DUNE detector., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures. Revised text,references added, result unchanged

The existence of nonzero neutrino masses points to the likely existence of multiple Standard Model neutral fermions. When such states are heavy enough that they cannot be produced in oscillations, they are referred to as heavy neutral leptons (HNLs). In this white paper, we discuss the present experimental status of HNLs including colliders, beta decay, accelerators, as well as astrophysical and cosmological impacts. We discuss the importance of continuing to search for HNLs, and its potential impact on our understanding of key fundamental questions, and additionally we outline the future prospects for next-generation future experiments or upcoming accelerator run scenarios.

Results from experiments like LSND and MiniBooNE hint towards the possible presence of an extra eV scale sterile neutrino. The addition of such a neutrino will significantly impact the standard three flavour neutrino oscillations. In particular, it can give rise to additional degeneracies due to additional sterile parameters. For an eV scale sterile neutrino, the cosmological constraints dictate that the sterile state is heavier than the three active states. However, for lower masses of sterile neutrinos, it can be lighter than one and/or more of the three states. In such cases, the mass ordering of the sterile neutrinos also becomes unknown along with the mass ordering of the active states. In this paper, we explore the mass ordering sensitivity in the presence of a sterile neutrino assuming the mass squared difference $|\Delta_{41}|$ to be in the range $10^{-4} - 1$ eV$^2$. We study (i) how the ordering of the active states, i.e. the determination of the sign of $\Delta_{31}$ gets affected by the presence of a sterile neutrino in the above mass range, (ii) the possible determination of the sign of $\Delta_{41}$ for $\Delta_{41}$ in the range $10^{-4} - 0.1$ eV$^2$. This analysis is done in the context of a liquid argon detector using both beam neutrinos traveling a distance of 1300 km and atmospheric neutrinos which propagates through a distance ranging from 10 - 10000 km allowing resonant matter effects. Apart from presenting separate results from these sources, we also do a combined study and probe the synergy between these two in giving an enhanced sensitivity., Comment: 14 pages, 19 figures

The existence of nonzero neutrino masses points to the likely existence of multiple Standard Model neutral fermions. When such states are heavy enough that they cannot be produced in oscillations, they are referred to as heavy neutral leptons (HNLs). In this white paper, we discuss the present experimental status of HNLs including colliders, beta decay, accelerators, as well as astrophysical and cosmological impacts. We discuss the importance of continuing to search for HNLs, and its potential impact on our understanding of key fundamental questions, and additionally we outline the future prospects for next-generation future experiments or upcoming accelerator run scenarios.

The existence of non-zero neutrino masses points to the likely existence of multiple SM neutral fermions. When such states are heavy enough that they cannot be produced in oscillations, they are referred to as Heavy Neutral Leptons (HNLs). In this white paper we discuss the present experimental status of HNLs including colliders, beta decay, accelerators, as well as astrophysical and cosmological impacts. We discuss the importance of continuing to search for HNLs, and its potential impact on our understanding on key fundamental questions, and additionally we outline the future prospects for next-generation future experiments or upcoming accelerator run scenarios., Comment: 82 pages, 34 figures. Contribution to Snowmass 2021

Results from the experiments like LSND, and MiniBooNE hint towards the possible presence of an extra eV scale sterile neutrino. The addition of such a neutrino will significantly impact the standard three flavour neutrino oscillations; in particular, it can give rise to additional degeneracies due to new sterile parameters. In our work, we investigate how the sensitivity to determine the octant of the neutrino mixing angle $\theta_{23}$ is affected by introducing a sterile neutrino to the standard neutrino oscillation framework. We compute the oscillation probabilities in presence of a sterile neutrino, analytically, using the approximation that $\Delta_{21}$, the smallest mass squared difference, is zero. We use these probabilities to understand the degeneracies analytically at different baselines. We present our results of the sensitivity to octant of $\theta_{23}$ for beam neutrinos using a liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC). We also obtain octant sensitivity using atmospheric neutrinos using the same LArTPC detector without any charge identification capability. In addition, we include the charge tagging capability of muon capture in argon which allows one to differentiate between muon neutrino and antineutrino events. The combined sensitivity of beam and atmospheric neutrinos in a similar experimental setup is also delineated. We observe that by combining simulated data from the beam and atmospheric neutrinos (including charge-id for muons), the sensitivity to the octant of $\theta_{23}$ for true values of $\theta_{23}=41^\circ(49^\circ)$ exceeds $4\sigma(3\sigma)$ for more than $50\%$ values of true $\delta_{13}$., Comment: 43 pages, 18 figures

We discuss the impact of matter density profile shape on the determination of nonstandard neutrino matter interactions (NSI) in the context of the long baseline accelerator experiments such as Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE). The primary scientific goals of DUNE are to determine the neutrino mass hierarchy, the leptonic CP violation phase, and the existence of new physics beyond the standard model of particles. Here we study the role of different earth matter density profiles on the question of observing standard oscillation as wells as NSI at DUNE. We consider two different earth matter density profiles which are relevant for the DUNE baseline. We first discuss the impact of matter on both appearance and disappearance oscillation channels, then we demonstrate the effect of different matter density profiles on the determination of NSI. We consider four different scenarios of NSI and elucidate the effect at the oscillation probability and measurement of number of events at DUNE. In one case of study we show that a nonstandard complex phase $\phi_{e\tau}$ could significantly increase the sensitivity to different matter distributions along the baseline., Comment: 18 pages, 10 figures, v2 with new references

We propose the first experimental test of the inelastic boosted dark matter hypothesis, capitalizing on the new physics potential with the imminent data taking of the ProtoDUNE detectors. More specifically, we explore various experimental signatures at the cosmic frontier, arising in boosted dark matter scenarios, i.e., relativistic, inelastic scattering of boosted dark matter often created by the annihilation of its heavier component which usually comprises of the dominant relic abundance. Although features are unique enough to isolate signal events from potential backgrounds, vetoing a vast amount of cosmic background is rather challenging as the detectors are located on the ground. We argue, with a careful estimate, that such backgrounds nevertheless can be well under control by performing dedicated analyses after data acquisition. We then discuss some phenomenological studies which can be achieved with ProtoDUNE, employing a dark photon scenario as our benchmark dark-sector model., Comment: Supplemental material included

We discuss the impact of non-standard neutrino matter interactions (NSI) in propagation on the determination of CP phase in the context of the long baseline accelerator experiments such as Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE). DUNE will mainly address the issue of CP violation in the leptonic sector. Here we study the role of NSI and its impact on the question of observing the CP violation signal at DUNE. We consider two scenarios of oscillation with three active neutrinos in absence and presence of NSI. We elucidate the importance of ruling out subdominant new physics effects introduced by NSI in inferring CP violation signal at DUNE by considering NSI terms collectively as well as by exploiting the non-trivial interplay of moduli and phases of the NSI terms. We demonstrate the existence of NSI-SI degeneracies which need to be eliminated in reliable manner in order to make conclusive statements about the CP phase., Comment: v2 : to appear in J. Phys. G

The upcoming 50 kt magnetized iron calorimeter (ICAL) detector at the India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) is designed to study the atmospheric neutrinos and antineutrinos separately over a wide range of energies and path lengths. The primary focus of this experiment is to explore the Earth matter effects by observing the energy and zenith angle dependence of the atmospheric neutrinos in the multi-GeV range. This study will be crucial to address some of the outstanding issues in neutrino oscillation physics, including the fundamental issue of neutrino mass hierarchy. In this document, we present the physics potential of the detector as obtained from realistic detector simulations. We describe the simulation framework, the neutrino interactions in the detector, and the expected response of the detector to particles traversing it. The ICAL detector can determine the energy and direction of the muons to a high precision, and in addition, its sensitivity to multi-GeV hadrons increases its physics reach substantially. Its charge identification capability, and hence its ability to distinguish neutrinos from antineutrinos, makes it an efficient detector for determining the neutrino mass hierarchy. In this report, we outline the analyses carried out for the determination of neutrino mass hierarchy and precision measurements of atmospheric neutrino mixing parameters at ICAL, and give the expected physics reach of the detector with 10 years of runtime. We also explore the potential of ICAL for probing new physics scenarios like CPT violation and the presence of magnetic monopoles., Comment: 139 pages, Physics White Paper of the ICAL (INO) Collaboration, Contents identical with the version published in Pramana - J. Physics

We study the effects of non-standard interactions on the oscillation pattern of atmospheric neutrinos. We use neutrino oscillograms as our main tool to infer the role of non-standard interactions (NSI) parameters at the probability level in the energy range, $E \in [1,20]$ GeV and zenith angle range, $\cos \theta \in [-1,0]$. We compute the event rates for atmospheric neutrino events in presence of NSI parameters in the energy range $E \in [1,10]$ GeV for two different detector configurations - a magnetized iron calorimeter and an unmagnetized liquid Argon time projection chamber which have different sensitivities to NSI parameters due to their complementary characteristics. As an application, we discuss how NSI parameter, $\epsilon_{\mu\tau}$ impacts the determination of the correct octant of $\theta_{23}$., Comment: v2: matches published version in Phys. Rev. D

We perform a comprehensive study of the ability of the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) to answer outstanding questions in the neutrino sector. We consider the sensitivities to the mass hierarchy, the octant of \theta_{23} and to CP violation using data from beam and atmospheric neutrinos. We evaluate the dependencies on the precision with which \theta_{13} will be measured by reactor experiments, on the detector size, beam power and exposure time, on detector magnetization, and on the systematic uncertainties achievable with and without a near detector. We find that a 35 kt far detector in DUNE with a near detector will resolve the eight-fold degeneracy that is intrinsic to long baseline experiments and will meet the primary goals of oscillation physics that it is designed for., Comment: 25 pages, 17 figures, 6 tables. Expanded version to appear in IJMPA

We study the sensitivity of the Iron Calorimeter (ICAL) at the India-Based Neutrino Observatory (INO) to Lorentz and CPT violation in the neutrino sector. Its ability to identify the charge of muons in addition to their direction and energy makes ICAL a useful tool in putting constraints on these fundamental symmetries. Using resolution, efficiencies, errors and uncertainties obtained from ICAL detector simulations, we determine sensitivities to $\delta{b}_{31}$, which parametizes the violations in the muon neutrino sector. We carry out calculations for three generic cases representing mixing in the CPT violating part of the hamiltonian, specifically, when the mixing is 1) small, 2) large, 3) the same as that in the PMNS matrix. We find that for both types of hierarchy, ICAL at INO should be sensitive to $\delta{b}_{31}$ $\gtrsim$ $4\times10^{-23}$ GeV at 99% C.L. for 500 kt-yr exposure, unless the mixing in the CPT violation sector is small., Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures

The IceCube collaboration has recently announced the discovery of ultra-high energy neutrino events. These neutrinos can be used to probe their production source, as well as leptonic mixing parameters. In this work, we have used the first IceCube data to constrain the leptonic CP violating phase $\delta_{cp}$. For this, we have analyzed the data in the form of flux ratios. We find that the fit to $\delta_{cp}$ depends on the assumptions made on the production mechanism of these astrophyscial neutrinos. Consequently, we also use this data to impose constraints on the sources of the neutrinos., Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, version accepted for publication in PRD

One of the unknown parameters in neutrino oscillations is the octant of the mixing angle theta_{23}. In this paper, we discuss the possibility of determining the octant of theta_{23} in the long baseline experiments T2K and NOvA in conjunction with future atmospheric neutrino detectors, in light of non-zero value of theta_{13} measured by reactor experiments. We consider two detector technologies for atmospheric neutrinos - magnetized iron calorimeter and non-magnetized Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber. We present the octant sensitivity for T2K/NOvA and atmospheric neutrino experiments separately as well as combined. For the long baseline experiments, a precise measurement of theta_{13}, which can exclude degenerate solutions in the wrong octant, increases the sensitivity drastically. For theta_{23} = 39^o and sin^2 2 theta_{13} = 0.1, at least ~2 sigma sensitivity can be achieved by T2K+NOvA for all values of delta_{CP} for both normal and inverted hierarchy. For atmospheric neutrinos, the moderately large value of theta_{13} measured in the reactor experiments is conducive to octant sensitivity because of enhanced matter effects. A magnetized iron detector can give a 2 sigma octant sensitivity for 500 kT yr exposure for theta_{23} = 39^o, delta_{CP} = 0 and normal hierarchy. This increases to 3 sigma for both hierarchies by combining with T2K+NOvA. This is due to a preference of different theta_{23} values at the minimum chi^2 by T2K/NOvA and atmospheric neutrino experiments. A Liquid Argon detector for atmospheric neutrinos with the same exposure can give higher octant sensitivity, due to the interplay of muon and electron contributions and superior resolutions. We obtain a ~3 sigma sensitivity for theta_{23} = 39^o for normal hierarchy. This increases to > ~4 sigma for all values of delta_{CP} if combined with T2K+NOvA. For inverted hierarchy the combined sensitivity is ~3 sigma., Comment: Version accepted for publication in JHEP 36 pages, 15 figures, 5 tables

We study the neutrino oscillation physics performance of the Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment (LBNE) in various configurations. In particular, we compare the case of a surface detector at the far site augmented by a near detector, to that with the far site detector placed deep underground but no near detector. In the latter case, information from atmospheric neutrino events is also utilized. For values of \theta_{13} favored by reactor experiments and a 100 kt-yr exposure, we find roughly equivalent sensitivities to the neutrino mass hierarchy, the octant of \theta_{23}, and to CP violation. We also find that as the exposure is increased, the near detector helps increase the sensitivity to CP violation substantially more than atmospheric neutrinos., Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. Version to appear as a Rapid Communication in PRD