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Escrihuela, F. J., Forero, D. V., Miranda, O. G., Tortola, M., & Valle, J. W. F. (2017). Probing CP violation with non-unitary mixing in long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments: DUNE as a case study. New J. Phys., 19, 093005–14pp.
Abstract: When neutrino masses arise from the exchange of neutral heavy leptons, as in most seesaw schemes, the effective lepton mixing matrix N describing neutrino propagation is non-unitary, hence neutrinos are not exactly orthonormal. New CP violation phases appear in N that could be confused with the standard phase delta(CP) characterizing the three neutrino paradigm. We study the potential of the long-baseline neutrino experiment DUNE in probing CP violation induced by the standard CP phase in the presence of non-unitarity. In order to accomplish this we develop our previous formalism, so as to take into account the neutrino interactions with the medium, important in long baseline experiments such as DUNE. We find that the expected CP sensitivity of DUNE is somewhat degraded with respect to that characterizing the standard unitary case. However the effect is weaker than might have been expected thanks mainly to the wide neutrino beam. We also investigate the sensitivity of DUNE to the parameters characterizing non-unitarity. In this case we find that there is no improvement expected with respect to the current situation, unless the near detector setup is revamped.
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Borexino Collaboration(Bellini, G. et al), & Pena-Garay, C. (2012). Absence of a day-night asymmetry in the Be-7 solar neutrino rate in Borexino. Phys. Lett. B, 707(1), 22–26.
Abstract: We report the result of a search for a day-night asymmetry in the Be-7 solar neutrino interaction rate in the Borexino detector at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS) in Italy. The measured asymmetry is A(dn) = 0.001 +/- 0.012 (stat) +/- 0.007 (syst), in agreement with the prediction of MSW-LMA solution for neutrino oscillations. This result disfavors MSW oscillations with mixing parameters in the LOW region at more than 8.5 sigma. This region is, for the first time, strongly disfavored without the use of reactor anti-neutrino data and therefore the assumption of CPT symmetry. The result can also be used to constrain some neutrino oscillation scenarios involving new physics.
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de Salas, P. F., Forero, D. V., Ternes, C. A., Tortola, M., & Valle, J. W. F. (2018). Status of neutrino oscillations 2018: 3 sigma hint for normal mass ordering and improved CP sensitivity. Phys. Lett. B, 782, 633–640.
Abstract: We present a new global fit of neutrino oscillation parameters within the simplest three-neutrino picture, including new data which appeared since our previous analysis[1]. In this update we include new long-baseline neutrino data involving the antineutrino channel in T2K, as well as new data in the neutrino channel, data from NO nu A, as well as new reactor data, such as the Daya Bay 1230 days electron antineutrino disappearance spectrum data and the 1500 live days prompt spectrum from RENO, as well as new Double Chooz data. We also include atmospheric neutrino data from the IceCube DeepCore and ANTARES neutrino telescopes and from Super-Kamiokande. Finally, we also update our solar oscillation analysis by including the 2055-day day/night spectrum from the fourth phase of the Super-Kamiokande experiment. With the new data we find a preference for the atmospheric angle in the upper octant for both neutrino mass orderings, with maximal mixing allowed at Delta chi(2)= 1.6 (3.2) for normal (inverted) ordering. We also obtain a strong preference for values of the CP phase delta in the range [pi, 2 pi], excluding values close to pi/2at more than 4 sigma. More remarkably, our global analysis shows a hint in favorof the normal mass ordering over the inverted one at more than 3 sigma. We discuss in detail the status of the mass ordering, CP violation and octant sensitivities, analyzing the interplay among the different neutrino data samples.
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Di Molfetta, G., & Perez, A. (2016). Quantum walks as simulators of neutrino oscillations in a vacuum and matter. New J. Phys., 18, 103038–8pp.
Abstract: We analyze the simulation of Dirac neutrino oscillations using quantum walks, both in a vacuum and in matter. We show that this simulation, in the continuum limit, reproduces a set of coupled Dirac equations that describe neutrino flavor oscillations, and we make use of this to establish a connection with neutrino phenomenology, thus allowing one to fix the parameters of the simulation for a given neutrino experiment. We also analyze how matter effects for neutrino propagation can be simulated in the quantum walk. In this way, important features, such as the MSW effect, can be incorporated. Thus, the simulation of neutrino oscillations with the help of quantum walks might be useful to illustrate these effects in extreme conditions, such as the solar interior or supernovae.
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Abgrall, N. et al, Cervera-Villanueva, A., Escudero, L., Monfregola, L., & Stamoulis, P. (2011). Time projection chambers for the T2K near detectors. Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. A, 637(1), 25–46.
Abstract: The T2K experiment is designed to study neutrino oscillation properties by directing a high intensity neutrino beam produced at J-PARC in Tokai, Japan, towards the large Super-Kamiokande detector located 295 km away, in Kamioka, Japan. The experiment includes a sophisticated near detector complex, 280 m downstream of the neutrino production target in order to measure the properties of the neutrino beam and to better understand neutrino interactions at the energy scale below a few GeV. A key element of the near detectors is the ND280 tracker, consisting of two active scintillator-bar target systems surrounded by three large time projection chambers (TPCs) for charged particle tracking. The data collected with the tracker are used to study charged current neutrino interaction rates and kinematics prior to oscillation, in order to reduce uncertainties in the oscillation measurements by the far detector. The tracker is surrounded by the former UA1/NOMAD dipole magnet and the TPCs measure the charges, momenta, and particle types of charged particles passing through them. Novel features of the TPC design include its rectangular box layout constructed from composite panels, the use of bulk micromegas detectors for gas amplification, electronics readout based on a new ASIC, and a photoelectron calibration system. This paper describes the design and construction of the TPCs, the micromegas modules, the readout electronics, the gas handling system, and shows the performance of the TPCs as deduced from measurements with particle beams, cosmic rays, and the calibration system.
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