Search

This study provides an analysis of atmospheric neutrino oscillations at the ESSnuSB far detector facility. The prospects of the two cylindrical Water Cherenkov detectors with a total fiducial mass of 540 kt are investigated over 10 years of data taking in the standard three-flavor oscillation scenario. We present the confidence intervals for the determination of mass ordering, $\theta_{23}$ octant as well as for the precisions on $\sin^2\theta_{23}$ and $|\Delta m_{31}^2|$. It is shown that mass ordering can be resolved by $3\sigma$ CL ($5\sigma$ CL) after 4 years (10 years) regardless of the true neutrino mass ordering. Correspondingly, the wrong $\theta_{23}$ octant could be excluded by $3\sigma$ CL after 4 years (8 years) in the case where the true neutrino mass ordering is normal ordering (inverted ordering). The results presented in this work are complementary to the accelerator neutrino program in the ESSnuSB project., Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures and 2 tables, accepted for publication in the Journal of High Energy Physics

Neutrino oscillation experiments provide a unique window in exploring several new physics scenarios beyond the standard three flavour. One such scenario is quantum decoherence in neutrino oscillation which tends to destroy the interference pattern of neutrinos reaching the far detector from the source. In this work, we study the decoherence in neutrino oscillation in the context of the ESSnuSB experiment. We consider the energy-independent decoherence parameter and derive the analytical expressions for P$_{\mu e}$ and P$_{\mu \mu}$ probabilities in vacuum. We have computed the capability of ESSnuSB to put bounds on the decoherence parameters namely, $\Gamma_{21}$ and $\Gamma_{32}$ and found that the constraints on $\Gamma_{21}$ are competitive compared to the DUNE bounds and better than the most stringent LBL ones from MINOS/MINOS+. We have also investigated the impact of decoherence on the ESSnuSB measurement of the Dirac CP phase $\delta_{\rm CP}$ and concluded that it remains robust in the presence of new physics., Comment: 30 pages, 9 figures, 2 tables, Version accepted for publication in JHEP

In this paper we study non-standard interactions mediated by a scalar field (SNSI) in the context of ESSnuSB experiment. In particular we study the capability of ESSnuSB to put bounds on the SNSI parameters and also study the impact of SNSI in the measurement of the leptonic CP phase $\delta_{\rm CP}$. Existence of SNSI modifies the neutrino mass matrix and this modification can be expressed in terms of three diagonal real parameters ($\eta_{ee}$, $\eta_{\mu\mu}$ and $\eta_{\tau\tau}$) and three off-diagonal complex parameters ($\eta_{e \mu}$, $\eta_{e\tau}$ and $\eta_{\mu\tau}$). Our study shows that the upper bounds on the parameters $\eta_{\mu\mu}$, $\eta_{\tau\tau}$ and $\eta_{\mu\tau}$ depend upon how $\Delta m^2_{31}$ is minimized in the theory. However, this is not the case when one tries to measure the impact of SNSI on $\delta_{\rm CP}$. Further, we show that the CP sensitivity of ESSnuSB can be completely lost for certain values of $\eta_{ee}$ and $\eta_{\mu\tau}$ for which the appearance channel probability becomes independent of $\delta_{\rm CP}$., Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables, Version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D

ESSnuSB is a design study for an experiment to measure the CP violation in the leptonic sector at the second neutrino oscillation maximum using a neutrino beam driven by the uniquely powerful ESS linear accelerator. The reduced impact of systematic errors on sensitivity at the second maximum allows for a very precise measurement of the CP violating parameter. This review describes the fundamental advantages of measurement at the 2nd maximum, the necessary upgrades to the ESS linac in order to produce a neutrino beam, the near and far detector complexes, the expected physics reach of the proposed ESSnuSB experiment, concluding with the near future developments aimed at the project realization., Comment: 19 pages, 12 figures; Final version after review by the Universe journal

We check the capability of the DUNE neutrino experiment to detect new sources of leptonic CP violation beside the single phase expected in the Standard Model. We illustrate our strategy based on the measurement of CP asymmetries in the case New Physics will show up as Non-Standard neutrino Interactions and sterile neutrino states and show that the most promising one, once the experimental errors are taken into account in both scenarios, is the one related to the $\nu_\mu \to \nu_e$ transition., Comment: 25 pages, 10 figures

We present the results of the first lattice QCD calculation of the $K \to \pi$ matrix elements of the chromomagnetic operator $O_{CM} = g\, \bar s\, \sigma_{\mu\nu} G_{\mu\nu} d$, which appears in the effective Hamiltonian describing $\Delta S = 1$ transitions in and beyond the Standard Model. Having dimension 5, the chromomagnetic operator is characterized by a rich pattern of mixing with operators of equal and lower dimensionality. The multiplicative renormalization factor as well as the mixing coefficients with the operators of equal dimension have been computed at one loop in perturbation theory. The power divergent coefficients controlling the mixing with operators of lower dimension have been determined non-perturbatively, by imposing suitable subtraction conditions. The numerical simulations have been carried out using the gauge field configurations produced by the European Twisted Mass Collaboration with $N_f = 2+1+1$ dynamical quarks at three values of the lattice spacing. Our result for the B-parameter of the chromomagnetic operator at the physical pion and kaon point is $B_{CMO}^{K \pi} = 0.273 ~ (70)$, while in the SU(3) chiral limit we obtain $B_{CMO} = 0.072 ~ (22)$. Our findings are significantly smaller than the model-dependent estimate $B_{CMO} \sim 1 - 4$, currently used in phenomenological analyses, and improve the uncertainty on this important phenomenological quantity., Comment: 20 pages, 4 figures, 2 table. Refined SU(3) ChPT analysis with no changes in the final result. Version to appear in PRD

We discuss the spectrum of the different components in the astrophysical neutrino flux reaching the Earth and the possible contribution of each component to the high-energy IceCube data. We show that the diffuse flux from cosmic ray interactions with gas in our galaxy implies just 2 events among the 54 event sample. We argue that the neutrino flux from cosmic ray interactions in the intergalactic (intracluster) space depends critically on the transport parameter $\delta$ describing the energy dependence in the diffusion coefficient of galactic cosmic rays. Our analysis motivates a E^{-2.1} neutrino spectrum with a drop at PeV energies that fits well the data, including the non-observation of the Glashow resonance at 6.3 PeV. We also show that a cosmic ray flux described by an unbroken power law may produce a neutrino flux with interesting spectral features (bumps and breaks) related to changes in the cosmic ray composition., Comment: 19 pages, new section about changes in CR composition, version to appear in ApJ

We present our study of the renormalization of the chromomagnetic operator,O(CM), which appears in the effective Hamiltonian describing Delta S = 1 transitions in and beyond the Standard Model. We have computed, perturbatively to one-loop, the relevant Green's functions with two (quark-quark) and three (quark-quark-gluon) external fields, at nonzero quark masses, using both the lattice and dimensional regularizations. The perturbative computation on the lattice is carried out using the maximally twisted-mass action for the fermions, while for the gluons we employed the Symanzik improved gauge action for different sets of values of the Symanzik coefficients. We have identified all the operators which can possibly mix with O(CM), including lower dimensional and non gauge invariant operators, and we have calculated those elements of the mixing matrix which are relevant for the renormalization of O(CM). We have also performed numerical lattice calculations to determine non-perturbatively the mixings of the chromomagnetic operator with lower dimensional operators, through proper renormalization conditions. For the first time the 1/a**2-divergent mixing of the chromomagnetic operator with the scalar density has been determined non-perturbatively with high precision. Moreover, the 1/a-divergent mixing with the pseudoscalar density, due to the breaking of parity within the twisted-mass regularization of QCD, has been calculated non-perturbatively and found to be smaller than its one-loop perturbative estimate. The QCD simulations have been carried out using the gauge configurations produced by the European Twisted Mass Collaboration with Nf = 2 + 1 + 1 dynamical quarks, which include in the sea, besides two light mass degenerate quarks, also the strange and charm quarks with masses close to their physical values., Comment: 28 pages, 13 figures, 7 tables

The Chromomagnetic operator (CMO) mixes with a large number of operators under renormalization. We identify which operators can mix with the CMO, at the quantum level. Even in dimensional regularization (DR), which has the simplest mixing pattern, the CMO mixes with a total of 9 other operators, forming a basis of dimension-five, Lorentz scalar operators with the same flavor content as the CMO. Among them, there are also gauge noninvariant operators; these are BRST invariant and vanish by the equations of motion, as required by renormalization theory. On the other hand using a lattice regularization further operators with $d \leq 5$ will mix; choosing the lattice action in a manner as to preserve certain discrete symmetries, a minimul set of 3 additional operators (all with $d<5$) will appear. In order to compute all relevant mixing coefficients, we calculate the quark-antiquark (2-pt) and the quark-antiquark-gluon (3-pt) Green's functions of the CMO at nonzero quark masses. These calculations were performed in the continuum (dimensional regularization) and on the lattice using the maximally twisted mass fermion action and the Symanzik improved gluon action. In parallel, non-perturbative measurements of the $K-\pi$ matrix element are being performed in simulations with 4 dynamical ($N_f = 2+1+1$) twisted mass fermions and the Iwasaki improved gluon action., Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure, 3 tables, LATTICE2014 proceedings

We present preliminary results of the first lattice QCD calculation of the K -> pi matrix elements of the chromomagnetic operator O_{CM}=g sbar sigma_{munu} G_{munu} d, which appears in the effective Hamiltonian describing Delta S=1 transitions in and beyond the Standard Model. Having dimension 5, the chromomagnetic operator is characterized by a rich pattern of mixing with operators of equal and lower dimensionality. The multiplicative renormalization factor as well as the mixing coefficients with the operators of equal dimension have been computed at one-loop in perturbation theory. The power divergent coefficients controlling the mixing with operators of lower dimension have been computed non-perturbatively, by imposing suitable subtraction conditions. The numerical simulations have been carried out using the gauge field configurations produced by the European Twisted Mass Collaboration with N_f=2+1+1 dynamical quarks at three values of the lattice spacing. Our preliminary result for the B-parameter of the chromomagnetic operator is B_{CMO}=0.29(11), which can be compared with the estimate B_{CMO}~1-4 currently used in phenomenological analyses., Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, LATTICE2014 proceedings

We perform a detailed combined fit to the $\overline \nu_e \rightarrow \overline \nu_e$ disappearence data of the Daya Bay experiment and the appearance $\nu_{\mu} \rightarrow \nu_{e}$ and disappearance $\nu_{\mu} \rightarrow \nu_{\mu}$ data of the Tokai to Kamioka (T2K) one in the presence of two models of new physics affecting neutrino oscillations, namely a model where sterile neutrinos can propagate in a large compactified extra dimension and a model where non-standard interactions (NSI) affect the neutrino production and detection. We find that the Daya Bay $\oplus$ T2K data combination constrains the largest radius of the compactified extra dimensions to be $R\lesssim 0.17$ $\mu {\rm m}$ at 2$\sigma$ C.L. (for the inverted ordering of the neutrino mass spectrum) and the relevant NSI parameters in the range ${\mathcal O}(10^{-3})-{\mathcal O}(10^{-2})$, for particular choices of the charged parity violating phases., Comment: 18 pages, 10 figures, 4 tables; typos corrected; matches published version

We show that the relatively large best fit value of $\sin^2 2 \theta_{13} = 0.14 \, (0.17)$ measured in the T2K experiment for fixed values of i) the Dirac CP violation phase $\delta = 0$, and ii) the atmospheric neutrino mixing parameters $\theta_{23} = \pi/4$, $|\Delta m^2_{32}| = 2.4 \times 10^{-3} \; {\rm eV}^2$, can be reconciled with the Daya Bay result $\sin^2 2 \theta_{13} = 0.090 \pm 0.009$ if the effects of non-standard neutrino interactions (NSI) in the relevant $\bar \nu_e \to \bar \nu_e$ and $\nu_\mu \to \nu_e$ oscillation probabilities are taken into account., Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures, results unchanged; typos corrected; version published in Nuclear Physics B

We perform for the first time a detailed fit to the $\bar \nu_e \to \bar \nu_e$ disappearance data of the Daya Bay experiment to constrain the parameter space of models where sterile neutrinos can propagate in a large compactified extra dimension (LED) and models where non-standard interactions affect the neutrino production and detection (NSI). We find that the compactification radius $R$ in LED scenarios can be constrained at the level of $0.57 \, \mu m$ for normal ordering and of $0.19\, \mu m$ for inverted ordering, at 2$\sigma$ confidence level. For the NSI model, reactor data put a strong upper bound on the parameter $\varepsilon_{ee}$ at the level of $\sim 10^{-3}$, whereas the main effect of $\varepsilon_{e\mu}$ and $\varepsilon_{e\tau}$ is a worsening of the determination of $\theta_{13}$., Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures

The recent results of the Planck experiment put a stringent constraint on the sum of the light neutrino masses, m1+m2+m3 < 0.23 eV (95 % CL). On the other hand, two-zero Majorana mass matrix textures predict strong correlations among the atmospheric angle and the sum of the masses. We use the Planck result to show that, for the normal hierarchy case, the texture with vanishing (2,2) and (3,3) elements is ruled out at a high confidence level; in addition, we emphasize that a future measurement of the octant of the atmospheric mixing angle (or the one sigma determination of it based on recent fit to neutrino data) will put severe constraint on the possible structure of the Majorana mass matrix. The implication of the above mentioned correlations for neutrinoless double beta-decay are also discussed, for both normal and inverted orderings., Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures

We study matrix elements of the "chromomagnetic" operator on the lattice. This operator is contained in the strangeness-changing effective Hamiltonian which describes electroweak effects in the Standard Model and beyond. Having dimension 5, the chromomagnetic operator is characterized by a rich pattern of mixing with other operators of equal and lower dimensionality, including also non gauge invariant quantities; it is thus quite a challenge to extract from lattice simulations a clear signal for the hadronic matrix elements of this operator. We compute all relevant mixing coefficients to one loop in lattice perturbation theory; this necessitates calculating both 2-point (quark-antiquark) and 3-point (gluon-quark-antiquark) Green's functions at nonzero quark masses. We use the twisted mass lattice formulation, with Symanzik improved gluon action. For a comprehensive presentation of our results, along with detailed explanations and a more complete list of references, we refer to our forthcoming publication [1]., Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure. Talk presented at the 31st International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory (Lattice 2013), 29 July - 3 August 2013, Mainz, Germany

The EUROnu project has studied three possible options for future, high intensity neutrino oscillation facilities in Europe. The first is a Super Beam, in which the neutrinos come from the decay of pions created by bombarding targets with a 4 MW proton beam from the CERN High Power Superconducting Proton Linac. The far detector for this facility is the 500 kt MEMPHYS water Cherenkov, located in the Fr\'ejus tunnel. The second facility is the Neutrino Factory, in which the neutrinos come from the decay of {\mu}+ and {\mu}- beams in a storage ring. The far detector in this case is a 100 kt Magnetised Iron Neutrino Detector at a baseline of 2000 km. The third option is a Beta Beam, in which the neutrinos come from the decay of beta emitting isotopes, in particular 6He and 18Ne, also stored in a ring. The far detector is also the MEMPHYS detector in the Fr\'ejus tunnel. EUROnu has undertaken conceptual designs of these facilities and studied the performance of the detectors. Based on this, it has determined the physics reach of each facility, in particular for the measurement of CP violation in the lepton sector, and estimated the cost of construction. These have demonstrated that the best facility to build is the Neutrino Factory. However, if a powerful proton driver is constructed for another purpose or if the MEMPHYS detector is built for astroparticle physics, the Super Beam also becomes very attractive., Comment: Results from the Framework Programme 7 project EUROnu, which studied three possible accelerator facilities for future high intensity neutrino oscillation facilities in Europe

This is a summary of the work done by the Working Package 6 (Physics) of the EU project "EUROnu" during the second year of activity of the project., Comment: 82 pages, 51 eps figures

This white paper addresses the hypothesis of light sterile neutrinos based on recent anomalies observed in neutrino experiments and the latest astrophysical data.

In this paper we analyze the compatibility of two-zero neutrino Majorana textures with the recent experimental data. Differently from previous works, we use the experimental data to fix the values of the non-vanishing mass matrix entries and study in detail the correlations and degree of fine-tuning among them, which is also a measure of how naturally a given texture is able to describe all neutrino data. This information is then used to expand the textures in powers of the Cabibbo angle; extracting random O(1) coefficients, we show that only in few cases such textures reproduce the mixing parameters in their 3 sigma ranges., Comment: 13 pages, 14 figures. Version to appear in NPB

It has been shown that the Cabibbo angle can be predicted in terms of group theoretical quantities, if the dihedral group D14 plays the role of a flavor symmetry. We extend a supersymmetric D14 model to the lepton sector and show that theta^nu_13 and the deviation of theta^nu_23 from maximal mixing in the neutrino sector originate, similar to the Cabibbo angle in the quark sector, from a mismatch of different subgroups of D14 and are of the size of the Cabibbo angle. The mixing angles in the charged lepton sector are small. Thus, the lepton mixing angle theta^l_13 is naturally in its experimentally preferred range and theta^l_23 within its 3 sigma range. The solar mixing angle is of order one and the charged lepton mass hierarchy is correctly reproduced. Leading order results are only slightly perturbed, if next-to-leading order corrections are taken into account., Comment: 18+1 pages, v2: references added and updated, matches journal version

We present a three-flavour fit to the recent \nu\mu --> \nu e and \nu\mu --> \nu\mu T2K oscillation data with different models for the neutrino-nucleus cross section. We show that, even for a limited statistics, the allowed regions and best fit points in the (\theta_{13},\delta_{CP}) and (\theta_{23},\Delta m^2_{atm}) planes are affected if, instead of using the Fermi Gas model to describe the quasielastic cross section, we employ a model including the multinucleon emission channel., Comment: 13 pages, 12 figures. A new section on the inverted hierarchy added. Version matching the published one in PLB

In the light of the recent Daya Bay result the reactor angle is about 9 degrees, we reconsider the model presented in arXiv:1005.3482 showing that, when all neutrino oscillation parameters are taken at their best fit values of Schwetz et al and the reactor angle to be the central value of Daya Bay, the predicted value of the CP phase is approximately 45 degrees., Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, update of arXiv:1005.3482

The main goals of the first "Workshop on FLAvor SYmmetries and consequences in accelerators and cosmology" (FLASY) was to summarize the theoretical status of flavor symmetries, bringing together young researchers in the field to stimulate discussions and new collaborations, with the aim of investigating possible new physics scenarios to be tested at the LHC, as well as in future neutrino, cosmology experiments and dark matter searches., Comment: Contributions of the 1st Workshop on Flavor Symmetries and consequences in Accelerators and Cosmology 11 - 14 July 2011, Valencia (Spain), 208 pages

The International Design Study for the Neutrino Factory (the IDS-NF) was established by the community at the ninth "International Workshop on Neutrino Factories, super-beams, and beta- beams" which was held in Okayama in August 2007. The IDS-NF mandate is to deliver the Reference Design Report (RDR) for the facility on the timescale of 2012/13. In addition, the mandate for the study [3] requires an Interim Design Report to be delivered midway through the project as a step on the way to the RDR. This document, the IDR, has two functions: it marks the point in the IDS-NF at which the emphasis turns to the engineering studies required to deliver the RDR and it documents baseline concepts for the accelerator complex, the neutrino detectors, and the instrumentation systems. The IDS-NF is, in essence, a site-independent study. Example sites, CERN, FNAL, and RAL, have been identified to allow site-specific issues to be addressed in the cost analysis that will be presented in the RDR. The choice of example sites should not be interpreted as implying a preferred choice of site for the facility.

A class of discrete flavor-symmetry-based models predicts constrained neutrino mass matrix schemes that lead to specific neutrino mass sum-rules (MSR). We show how these theories may constrain the absolute scale of neutrino mass, leading in most of the cases to a lower bound on the neutrinoless double beta decay effective amplitude., Comment: 12 pages, 12 figures

We study a model based on the dihedral group D4 in which the dark matter is stabilized by the interplay between a remnant Z2 symmetry, of the same spontaneously broken non-abelian group, and an auxiliary Z2 introduced to eliminate unwanted couplings in the scalar potential. In the lepton sector the model is compatible with normal hierarchy only and predicts a vanishing reactor mixing angle. Since m1=0, we also have a simple prediction for the effective mass in terms of the solar angle. There also exists a large portion of the model parameter space where the upper bounds on lepton flavor violating processes are not violated. We incorporate quarks in the same scheme finding that a description of the CKM mixing matrix is possible and that semileptonic K and D decays mediated by flavour changing neutral currents are under control., Comment: 12 pages, model slightly modified adding one scalar field. Neutrino phenomenology unchanged, quark mixings in much better agreement with the data

We present a model based on the A4 non-abelian discrete symmetry leading to a predictive five-parameter neutrino mass matrix and providing a stable dark matter candidate. We found an interesting correlation among the atmospheric and the reactor angles which predicts theta_23 ~ pi/4 for very small reactor angle and deviation from maximal atmospheric mixing for large theta_13. Only normal neutrino mass spectrum is possible and the effective mass entering the neutrinoless double beta decay rate is constrained to be |m_ee| > 4 10^{-4} eV., Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, minor changes to match the version to appear in PLB

The observation of astrophysical neutrinos requires a detailed understanding of the atmospheric neutrino background. Since neutrinos are produced in meson decays together with a charged lepton, important constraints on this background can be obtained from the measurement of the atmospheric muon flux. Muons, however, can also be produced as mu+ mu- pairs by purely electromagnetic processes. We use the Z-moment method to study and compare the contributions to the atmospheric muon and neutrino fluxes from different sources (pi/K decay, charmed and unflavored hadron decay, and photon conversion into a muon pair). We pay special attention to the contribution from unflavored mesons (eta, eta', rho0, omega and phi). These mesons are abundant in air showers, their lifetimes are much shorter than those of charged pions or kaons, and they have decay branching ratios of order 10^-4 into final states containing a muon pair. We show that they may be the dominant source of muons at E_mu >10^3 TeV., Comment: Pdflatex, 28 pages, 6 figures

We present an extension of the Standard Model (SM) based on the discrete flavor symmetry S3 which gives a neutrino mass matrix with two-zero texture of Fritzsch-type and nearly diagonal charged lepton mass matrix. The model is compatible with the normal hierarchy only and predicts the sine squared of the reactor angle to be 0.01 at the best fit values of solar and atmospheric parameters and maximal leptonic CP violation., Comment: 14 pages and 3 figures. Final version to appear in J. Phys G

We study the contribution of $\nu_e \to \nu_\tau \to \tau \to \mu$ transitions to the wrong-sign muon sample of the {\em golden} channel of the Neutrino Factory. Muons from tau decays are not really a background, since they contain information from the oscillation signal, and represent a small fraction of the sample. However, if not properly handled they introduce serious systematic error, in particular if the detector/analysis are sensitive to muons of low energy. This systematic effect is particularly troublesome for large $\theta_{13} \geq 1^\circ$ and prevents the use of the Neutrino Factory as a precision facility for large $\theta_{13}$. Such systematic error disappears if the tau contribution to the golden muon sample is taken into account. The fact that the fluxes of the Neutrino Factory are exactly calculable permits the knowledge of the tau sample due to the $\nu_e \to \nu_\tau$ oscillation. We then compute the contribution to the muon sample arising from this sample {\em in terms of the apparent muon energy}. This requires the computation of a migration matrix $M_{ij}$ which describes the contributions of the tau neutrinos of a given energy $E_i$, to the muon neutrinos of an apparent energy $E_j$. We demonstrate that applying $M_{ij}$ to the data permits the full correction of the otherwise intolerable systematic error., Comment: 15 pages, 9 figures, minor changes to match the version to be published on JHEP

In order to estimate the possibility to observe exotic physics in a neutrino telescope, it is essential to first understand the flux of atmospheric neutrinos, muons and dimuons. We study the production of these leptons by high-energy cosmic rays. We identify three main sources of muons of energy E > 10^6 GeV: the weak decay of charm and bottom mesons and the electromagnetic decay of unflavored mesons. Contrary to the standard assumption, we find that eta mesons, not the prompt decay of charm hadrons, are the dominant source of atmospheric muons at these energies. We show that, as a consequence, the ratio between the neutrino and muon fluxes is significantly reduced. For dimuons, which may be a background for long-lived staus produced near a neutrino telescope, we find that pairs of E ~ 10^7 GeV forming an angle above 10^-6 rad are produced through D (80%) or B (10%) meson decay and through Drell-Yan proceses (10%). The frequency of all these processes has been evaluated using the jet code PYTHIA., Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures; published version

We study the potential of the combination of the golden ($\nu_e \to \nu_\mu$) and silver ($\nu_e \to \nu_\tau$) channels to solve the octant degeneracy affecting the measurement of $\theta_{13}$ and $\delta$ at future neutrino factories. To search for $\tau$ leptons produced in $\nu_\tau$ charged-current interactions, we consider two different detectors: the Emulsion Cloud Chamber detector (ECC) and the Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LAr TPC). We show that, when using similar detector masses, the upgraded version of the ECC detector (sensitive also to hadronic $\tau$ decay modes) and the LAr TPC detector have comparable sensitivities to the octant of $\theta_{23}$, being able to discriminate the two solutions for $\sin^2 (2\theta_{13}) \gtrsim 10^{-3}$ at 3$\sigma$ level if $\theta_{23}=40^\circ$. We also show that the same setups are able to see deviation from maximal mixing as small as $\sim$ (4-6)% (at 3$\sigma$) if $\theta_{13}$ is close to its upper bound., Comment: 9 pages and 8 figures

Ultrahigh energy cosmic rays provide a unique ground for probing new physics. In this talk we review the possibility of testing TeV gravity in interactions of cosmogenic neutrinos and the potential to discover long-lived exotic particles in nucleon-produced air showers, such as gluinos of split-SUSY models or staus of supersymmetric models with a gravitino LSP., Comment: Presented at the XXXI International Conference of Theoretical Physics "Matter To The Deepest: Recent Developments In Physics of Fundamental Interactions", Ustron, 5-11 September 2007, Poland; 7 pages

We study the potential of the CNGS beam in constraining the parameter space of a model with one sterile neutrino separated from three active ones by an $\mathcal{O}(\eVq)$ mass-squared difference, $\Dmq_\Sbl$. We perform our analysis using the OPERA detector as a reference (our analysis can be upgraded including a detailed simulation of the ICARUS detector). We point out that the channel with the largest potential to constrain the sterile neutrino parameter space at the CNGS beam is $\nu_\mu \to \nu_\tau$. The reason for that is twofold: first, the active-sterile mixing angle that governs this oscillation is the less constrained by present experiments; second, this is the signal for which both OPERA and ICARUS have been designed, and thus benefits from an extremely low background. In our analysis we also took into account $\nu_\mu \to \nu_e$ oscillations. We find that the CNGS potential to look for sterile neutrinos is limited with nominal intensity of the beam, but it is significantly enhanced with a factor 2 to 10 increase in the neutrino flux. Data from both channels allow us, in this case, to constrain further the four-neutrino model parameter space. Our results hold for any value of $\Dmq_\Sbl \gtrsim 0.1 \eVq$, \textit{i.e.} when oscillations driven by this mass-squared difference are averaged. We have also checked that the bound on $\theta_{13}$ that can be put at the CNGS is not affected by the possible existence of sterile neutrinos., Comment: Major modifications; new analysis after MiniBooNE data release: 21 pages, 5 figures

Models with extra dimensions and the fundamental scale at the TeV could imply sign als in large neutrino telescopes due to gravitational scattering of cosmogenic neu trinos in the detection volume. Apart from the production of microscopic black hol es, extensively studied in the literature, we present gravity-mediated interactions at larger distances, that can be calculated in the e ikonal approximation. In these elastic processes the neutrino loses a small fracti on of energy to a hadronic shower and keeps going. The event rate of these events is higher than that of black hole formation and the signal is distinct: no charged leptons and possibly multiple-bang events., Comment: 5 pages; to appear in the proceedings of the Workshop on Exotic Physics with Neutrino Telesocpes, Uppsala 20-22 September 2006

Cosmic rays from outer space enter the atmosphere with energies of up to 10^{11} GeV. The initial particle or a secondary hadron inside the shower may then interact with an air nucleon to produce nonstandard particles. In this article we study the production of new physics by high energy cosmic rays, focusing on the long-lived gluino of split-SUSY models and a WIMP working as dark matter. We first deduce the total flux of hadron events at any depth in the atmosphere, showing that secondary hadrons can not be neglected. Then we use these results to find the flux of gluinos and WIMPs that reach the ground after being produced inside air showers. We also evaluate the probability of producing these exotic particles in a single proton shower of ultrahigh energy. Finally we discuss the possible signal in current and projected experiments. While the tiny flux of WIMPs does not seem to have any phenomenological consequences, we show that the gluinos could modify substantially the profile of a small fraction of extensive air showers. In particular, they could produce a distinct signal observable at AUGER in showers of large zenith angle., Comment: 9 pages, version to appear in PRD

We study the measurement of the atmospheric neutrino oscillation parameters, $\theta_{23}$ and $\Delta m^2_{23}$, at the $\nu_\mu$ disappearance channel at three conventional beam facilities, the SPL, T2K-phase I and NO$\nu$A. These two parameters have been shown to be of crucial importance in the measurement of two of the unknowns of the PMNS mixing matrix, $\theta_{13}$ and the leptonic CP-violating phase $\delta$. In our analyis, the effect of the two discrete ambiguities, ${\rm sign}(\Delta m^2_{23})$ and ${\rm sign}(\tan 2 \theta_{23})$, is explicitly taken into account. We analyse also the $\nu_\mu$ disappearance channel at the Neutrino Factory, and combine it with the ``golden'' $\nu_e \to \nu_\mu$ and ``silver'' $\nu_e \to \nu_\tau$ appearance channels to study its impact on the measurement of $\theta_{13}$ and $\delta$. Eventually, we present the sensitivity of the four facilities to different observables: $\theta_{13}$, $\delta$, maximal $\theta_{23}$, the sign of the atmospheric mass difference, $s_{atm}$, and the $\theta_{23}$-octant, $s_{oct}$., Comment: 40 pages using epsfig; bibliography modified

In this talk we show how the errors on solar and atmospheric parameters affect the measurement of the unknown PMNS parameters $\theta_{13}$ and $\delta$ at future LBL facilities. Performing three parameters fits in $\theta_{13}$, $\delta$ and, in turn, one of the atmospheric or solar parameters, we show that present uncertainties on $\theta_{23}$ and $\Delta m^2_{23}$ worsen significantly the precision on ($\theta_{13}$,$\delta$) whereas the solar sector does not introduce further uncertainties. A precision on the atmospheric parameters similar to what expected at T2K-I is necessary to improve the sensitivities to $\theta_{13}$ and $\delta$., Comment: 2 pages, 1 epsfig; NUFACT'05, 21-26 June 2005, Frascati

We present in this paper the analysis of the measurement of the unknown PMNS parameters $\theta_{13}$ and $\delta$ at future LBL facilities performing complete three parameters fits, each time fully including in the fit one of the atmospheric and solar oscillation parameters within its present (future) error. We show that, due to the presence of degeneracies, present uncertainties on $\theta_{23}$ and $\Delta m^2_{23}$ worsen significantly the precision on ($\theta_{13}$,$\delta$) at future LBL experiments. Only if a precision on the atmospheric parameters at least similar to what expected at T2K-I is reached, then the sensitivities to $\theta_{13}$ and $\delta$ that have been presented in the literature for many facilities (where $\theta_{23}$ and $\Delta m^2_{23}$ are generally considered as fixed external inputs) can indeed be almost recovered.On the other hand, the impact on this measurement of the uncertainties on the solar parameters, $\theta_{12}$ and $\Delta m^2_{12}$ is already negligible. Our analysis has been performed using three reference setups: the SPL Super-Beam and the standard low-$\gamma$ $\beta$-Beam, both aiming toward a Mton Water \v{C}erenkov detector located at L=130 km; the 50 GeV Neutrino Factory with a 40 kton Magnetized Iron Detector to look for the ``golden channel'' $\nu_e \to \nu_\mu$ with baseline L=3000 km and a 4 kton Emulsion Cloud Chamber to look for the ``silver channel'' $\nu_e \to \nu_\tau$ with baseline L=732 km., Comment: 42 pages, 64 figures. Comments added, final version to appear in EPJC

Cosmogenic neutrinos reach the Earth with energies around 10^9 GeV, and their interactions with matter will be measured in upcoming experiments (Auger, IceCube). Models with extra dimensions and the fundamental scale at the TeV could imply signals in these experiments. In particular, the production of microscopic black holes by cosmogenic neutrinos has been extensively studied in the literature. Here we make a complete analysis of gravity-mediated interactions at larger distances, where they can be calculated in the eikonal approximation. In these processes a neutrino of energy E_\nu interacts elastically with a parton inside a nucleon, loses a small fraction y of its energy, and starts a hadronic shower of energy y E_\nu << E_\nu. We analyze the ultraviolet dependence and the relevance of graviton emission in these processes, and show that they are negligible. We also study the energy distribution of cosmogenic events in AMANDA and IceCube and the possibility of multiple-bang events. For any neutrino flux, the observation of an enhanced rate of neutral current events above 100 TeV in neutrino telescopes could be explained by TeV-gravity interactions. The values of the fundamental scale of gravity that IceCube could reach are comparable to those to be explored at the LHC., Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures; new section on air showers added, version to be published