Abstract: Recent data from long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments have provided new information on theta(13), hinting that 0.01 less than or similar to sin(2) 2 theta(13) less than or similar to 0.1 at 2 sigma confidence level. In the near future, further confirmation of this result with high significance will have a crucial impact on the optimization of the future long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments designed to probe the neutrino mass ordering and leptonic CP violation. In this context, we expound in detail the physics reach of an experimental setup where neutrinos produced in a conventional wide-band beam facility at CERN are observed in a proposed Giant Liquid Argon detector at the Pyhasalmi mine, at a distance of 2290 km. Due to the strong matter effects and the high detection efficiency at both the first and second oscillation maxima, this particular setup would have unprecedented sensitivity to the neutrino mass ordering and leptonic CP violation in the light of the emerging hints of large theta(13). With a 10 to 20 kt 'pilot' detector and just a few years of neutrino beam running, the neutrino mass hierarchy could be determined, irrespective of the true values of delta(CP) and the mass hierarchy, at 3 sigma (5 sigma) confidence level if sin(2) 2 theta(13)(true) = 0.05 (0.1). With the same exposure, we start to have 3 sigma sensitivity to CP violation if sin(2) 2 theta(13)(true) > 0.05, in particular testing maximally CP-violating scenarios at a high confidence level. After optimizing the neutrino and anti-neutrino running fractions, we study the performance of the setup as a function of the exposure, identifying three milestones to have roughly 30%, 50% and 70% coverage in delta(CP) (true) for 3 sigma CP violation discovery. For comparison, we also study the CERN to Slanic baseline of 1540 km. This work nicely demonstrates that an incremental program, staged in terms of the exposure, can achieve the desired physics goals within a realistically feasible timescale, and produce significant new results at each stage.

Abstract: Recent measurements of the neutrino mixing angles cast doubt on the validity of the so-far popular 2 tribimaximal mixing Ansatz. We propose a parametrization for the neutrino mixing matrix where the reactor angle seeds the large solar and atmospheric mixing angles, equal to each other in first approximation. We suggest such a bilarge mixing pattern as a model-building standard, realized when the leading order value of theta(13) equals the Cabibbo angle lambda(C).

Abstract: Recent studies of the interaction of vector mesons with nuclei make possible and opportune the study of the interaction of the J/psi with nuclei and the investigation of the origin of the J/psi suppression in its propagation thorough a nuclear medium. We observe that the transition of J/psi N to VN with V being a light vector, rho, omega, phi, together with the inelastic channels, J/psi N -> (D) over bar Lambda(c) and J/psi N -> (D) over bar Sigma(c), leads to a particular shape of the inelastic cross section. Analogously, we consider the mechanisms where the exchanged D collides with a nucleon and gives pi Lambda(c) or pi Sigma(c). The cross section has a peak around root s = 4415 MeV, where the J/psi N couples to a resonance predicted recently. We study the transparency ratio for electron-induced J/psi production in nuclei at about 10 GeV and find that 30-35% of the J/psi produced in heavy nuclei are absorbed inside the nucleus. This ratio is in line with depletions of J/psi through matter observed in other reactions.