123670423
A single solution to the atmospheric and solar neutrino anomalies
Abstract We reconsider ν e - ν μ mixing as a solution for the low energy atmospheric neutrino anomaly, with δm 2 in the range (0.5−1.4)× 10 −2 eV 2 and sin 2 (2 θ ) near 0.8, and point out that it may provide a solution to the solar neutrino problem as well. This two-family vacuum oscillation solution is the simplest viable explanation of both phenomena. We consider the theoretical and experimental implications of this scenario, and another simple scenario involving three flavor mixing, and note that the new round of neutrino experiments will test these hypotheses.
117398144
Oscillation and Mixing Among the Three Neutrino Flavors
With the educated, interested non-specialist as the target audience, we overview what is known and not known about contemporary neutrino physics. Theory tells us that neutrinos are the second-most common particle in the Universe, behind only the quanta of radiation called photons. Almost a trillion neutrinos per second enter each human eyeball, and yet we do not see them; these neutrinos, in roughly equal numbers, are emanations from our Sun and relics of the hot "big bang" era of the early Universe. Much of what we know about neutrinos, and hope to learn in the future, is derived from a unique feature of neutrinos -- "oscillation" among neutrino "flavor" types. An initial neutrino flavor will in general oscillate into another flavor as the neutrino propagates in space and time. Oscillations are a quantum mechanical phenomenon. One of the wonders of neutrinos is that their quantum mechanics may be observed over large distances, even astronomically large. We begin this article with neutrino phenomenology in terms of masses and mixing angles, including the matter-antimatter asymmetric "phase" that appears with three neutrino types. Next we venture into neutrino oscillations. We conclude with a discussion of model-building for the neutrino masses and mixings. Throughout this article, attention is devoted to the 2012 result that the "small" neutrino mixing angle is not so small, after all.
119254616
Neutrino Oscillations from Cosmic Sources: A Nu Window to Cosmology
Neutrino astrophysics promises a wealth of information about neutrinos and the history of the universe through which they have traveled. In this letter, we extend the standard neutrino qoscillation discussion to neutrinos propagating through expanding curved space. This extension introduces a new cosmological parameter in the oscillation phase. The new parameter ℐ records cosmic history in much the same manner as the redshift variable z or the apparent luminosity distance DL. Measuring ℐ through neutrino oscillations may help to determine cosmological parameters and distinguish between different cosmologies.
119170988
Flavor Sensitivity to $\theta_{13}$ and the Mass Hierarchy for neutrinos from Solar WIMP Annihilation
The effect of the higher-energy 2nd resonance and the associated adiabatic-to-nonadiabatic transition on neutrino propagation in solar matter is presented. For WIMP-annihilation neutrinos injected with energies in the "sweet region" between 300 MeV and 10 GeV at the Sun's center, a significant and revealing dependence on the neutrino mass hierarchy and the mixing angle theta_13 down to 0.5 degrees is found in the flavor ratios arriving at Earth. In addition, the amplification of flavor ratios in the sweet region allows a better discrimination among possible annihilation modes of the solar dark matter. Under mild assumptions on WIMP properties, it is estimated that 200 neutrino events in the sweet region would be required for inferences of theta_13, the mass hierarchy, and the dominant WIMP annihilation mode. Future large-volume, low-energy neutrino detectors are likely needed if the measurement is to be made.
121147596
Dimuon production by neutrinos: Test of weak-current models
We compare predictions of weak-current models for ..mu../sup +/..mu../sup -/ production initiated by ..nu.. and anti ..nu.. with experimental x, y, p, and v distributions of the muon associated with the incident neutrino. These distributions indicate that ..nu..N dimuon production occurs dominantly off valence quarks, with a y dependence that is somewhat suggestive of (1 - y)/sup 2/, while anti ..nu..N production occurs from sea quarks. Nevertheless, the original charm model provides a viable explanation within the uncertainties of present data. An improved description of the ..nu..N dimuon distributions is obtained with a V + A charm-changing current. The dimuon data do not exhibit the characteristics expected from the production of the b-type quark of vectorlike theories. A vector-meson-dominance interpretation does not predict satisfactory x dependences. (AIP)
2745888
Bounds on relic neutrino masses in the Z-burst model
Neutrinos from far-away sources annihilating at the Z resonance on relic neutrinos may give origin to the extreme-energy cosmic rays (EECR). If “Z-bursts” are responsible for the EECR events, then we show that the non-observation of cosmic ray events at energies above 2 ×10 20 eV by the AGASA Collaboration implies a lower bound ∼ 0.3 eV on the relic neutrino mass. Since this mass exceeds the mass-squared differences inferred from oscillation physics, the bound in fact applies to all three neutrino masses. Together with the upper bound provided by comparisons of the CMB anisotropy with largescale structure, this bound leaves only a small interval for neutrino masses around 0.3 eV, if Z-bursts are to explain the existing EECR events.
32656642
Beam loss response measurements with a LHC prototype collimator in the SPS
Beam tests with a large hadron collider (LHC) prototype collimator were performed at the super proton synchrotron (SPS) in autumn 2006. Applying a new collimator control system many new beam measurements were performed. This contribution presents results on collimator- induced beam loss measurements and their applications to beam-based alignment of collimators and measurements of the beam size and position. Interesting features of the recorded beam loss signals are illustrated and possible impacts for LHC operation are discussed.
55312556
Performance test of a micro-pattern stereo detector with two gas electron multipliers
Abstract We report on the performance of a large micro-pattern detector with two gas electron multiplier foils and a two-layer readout structure at ground potential. The two readout layers each have a 406 μm pitch and cross at an effective angle of 6.7°. This structure allows for two orthogonal coordinates to be determined. Using a muon beam at CERN together with a silicon tracking system, the position resolutions of the two coordinates are measured to be 50 μm and 1 mm respectively (1 standard deviation). The muon detection efficiency for the two-dimensional space points reaches 96%. The detector was found to be well operational over a wide range in the settings of the different electrical fields.
119117884
Proceedings of the 2nd Workshop on Flavor Symmetries and Consequences in Accelerators and Cosmology (FLASY12)
Although existing theoretical models generally prefer extremely heavy right-handed neutrinos to generate light neutrino masses via the seesaw mechanism, there are several observed phenomena that point to the existence of both keVand eV-scale sterile neutrinos. We present two A4 flavor symmetry models that can accommodate light sterile neutrinos and remain compatible with neutrino data. Higher order seesaw terms and higher-dimensional operators are studied, and the phenomenological implications of light sterile neutrinos on neutrinoless double beta decay are discussed. 1.
27473327
Transverse impendance of LHC collimators
The transverse impedance in the LHC is expected to be dominated by the numerous collimators, most of which are made of Fibre-Reinforced-Carbon to withstand the impacts of high intensity proton beams in case of failures, and which will be moved very close to the beam, with full gaps of few millimetres, in order to protect surrounding super-conducting equipments. We present an estimate of the transverse resistive-wall impedance of the LHC collimators, the total impedance in the LHC at injection and top energy, the induced coupled-bunch growth rates and tune shifts, and finally the result of the comparison of the theoretical predictions with measurements performed in 2004 and 2006 on a prototype collimator installed in the SPS.
17145107
APERTURES IN THE LHC BEAM DUMP SYSTEM AND BEAM LOSSES DURING BEAM ABORT
The LHC beam dumping system (LBDS) is used to dispose accelerated protons and ions in a wide energy range from 450 GeV up to 7 TeV. An abort gap of 3 μs is foreseen to avoid sweeping particles through the LHC ring aperture. This paper gives a brief overview of the critical apertures in the extraction region and the two beam dump lines. MAD-X tracking studies have been made to investigate the impact of particles swept through the aperture due to extraction kicker failures or the presence of particles within the abort gap. The issue of failures during beam abort is a major concern for machine protection as well as a critical factor for safe operation of the experiments and their detectors.