Giare, W., Renzi, F., Melchiorri, A., Mena, O., & Di Valentino, E. (2022). Cosmological forecasts on thermal axions, relic neutrinos, and light elements. Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc., 511(1), 1373–1382.
Abstract: One of the targets of future cosmic microwave background (CMB) and baryon acoustic oscillation measurements is to improve the current accuracy in the neutrino sector and reach a much better sensitivity on extra dark radiation in the early Universe. In this paper, we study how these improvements can be translated into constraining power for well-motivated extensions of the standard model of elementary particles that involve axions thermalized before the quantum chromodynamics (QCD) phase transition by scatterings with gluons. Assuming a fiducial Lambda cold dark matter cosmological model, we simulate future data for Stage-IV CMB-like and Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI)-like surveys and analyse a mixed scenario of axion and neutrino hot dark matter. We further account also for the effects of these QCD axions on the light element abundances predicted by big bang nucleosynthesis. The most constraining forecasted limits on the hot relic masses are m(a) less than or similar to 0.92 eV and n-ary sumation m(nu) less than or similar to 0.12 eV at 95 per cent Confidence Level, showing that future cosmic observations can substantially improve the current bounds, supporting multimessenger analyses of axion, neutrino, and primordial light element properties.
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Giare, W., Renzi, F., Mena, O., Di Valentino, E., & Melchiorri, A. (2023). Is the Harrison-Zel'dovich spectrum coming back? ACT preference for n(s) similar to 1 and its discordance with Planck. Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc., 521(2), 2911–2918.
Abstract: The Data Release 4 of the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) shows an agreement with an Harrison-Zel'dovich primordial spectrum (n(s) = 1.009 +/- 0.015), introducing a tension with a significance of 99.3 per cent Confidence Level (CL) with the results from the Planck satellite. The discrepancy on the value of the scalar spectral index is neither alleviated with the addition of large scale structure information nor with the low multipole polarization data. We discuss possible avenues to alleviate the tension relying on either neglecting polarization measurements from ACT or in extending different sectors of the theory.
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Salvado, J., Mena, O., Palomares-Ruiz, S., & Rius, N. (2017). Non-standard interactions with high-energy atmospheric neutrinos at IceCube. J. High Energy Phys., 01(1), 141–30pp.
Abstract: Non-standard interactions in the propagation of neutrinos in matter can lead to significant deviations from expectations within the standard neutrino oscillation framework and atmospheric neutrino detectors have been considered to set constraints. However, most previous works have focused on relatively low-energy atmospheric neutrino data. Here, we consider the one-year high-energy through-going muon data in IceCube, which has been already used to search for light sterile neutrinos, to constrain new interactions in the μtau-sector. In our analysis we include several systematic uncertainties on both, the atmospheric neutrino flux and on the detector properties, which are accounted for via nuisance parameters. After considering different primary cosmic-ray spectra and hadronic interaction models, we improve over previous analysis by using the latest data and showing that systematics currently affect very little the bound on the off-diagonal epsilon(mu tau), with the 90% credible interval given by -6.0 x 10(-3) < epsilon(mu tau) < 5.4 x 10(-3), comparable to previous results. In addition, we also estimate the expected sensitivity after 10 years of collected data in IceCube and study the precision at which non-standard parameters could be determined for the case of epsilon(mu tau) near its current bound.
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DUNE Collaboration(Abi, B. et al), Antonova, M., Barenboim, G., Cervera-Villanueva, A., De Romeri, V., Garcia-Peris, M. A., et al. (2020). Long-baseline neutrino oscillation physics potential of the DUNE experiment. Eur. Phys. J. C, 80(10), 978–34pp.
Abstract: The sensitivity of the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) to neutrino oscillation is determined, based on a full simulation, reconstruction, and event selection of the far detector and a full simulation and parameterized analysis of the near detector. Detailed uncertainties due to the flux prediction, neutrino interaction model, and detector effects are included. DUNE will resolve the neutrino mass ordering to a precision of 5 sigma, for all delta CP values, after 2 years of running with the nominal detector design and beam configuration. It has the potential to observe charge-parity violation in the neutrino sector to a precision of 3 sigma (5 sigma) after an exposure of 5 (10) years, for 50% of all delta CP values. It will also make precise measurements of other parameters governing long-baseline neutrino oscillation, and after an exposure of 15 years will achieve a similar sensitivity to sin22 theta 13 to current reactor experiments.
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de Salas, P. F., Forero, D. V., Gariazzo, S., Martinez-Mirave, P., Mena, O., Ternes, C. A., et al. (2021). 2020 global reassessment of the neutrino oscillation picture. J. High Energy Phys., 02(2), 071–36pp.
Abstract: We present an updated global fit of neutrino oscillation data in the simplest three-neutrino framework. In the present study we include up-to-date analyses from a number of experiments. Concerning the atmospheric and solar sectors, besides the data considered previously, we give updated analyses of IceCube DeepCore and Sudbury Neutrino Observatory data, respectively. We have also included the latest electron antineutrino data collected by the Daya Bay and RENO reactor experiments, and the long-baseline T2K and NO nu A measurements, as reported in the Neutrino 2020 conference. All in all, these new analyses result in more accurate measurements of theta (13), theta (12), Delta m212 and Delta m312. The best fit value for the atmospheric angle theta (23) lies in the second octant, but first octant solutions remain allowed at similar to 2.4 sigma. Regarding CP violation measurements, the preferred value of delta we obtain is 1.08 pi (1.58 pi) for normal (inverted) neutrino mass ordering. The global analysis still prefers normal neutrino mass ordering with 2.5 sigma statistical significance. This preference is milder than the one found in previous global analyses. These new results should be regarded as robust due to the agreement found between our Bayesian and frequentist approaches. Taking into account only oscillation data, there is a weak/moderate preference for the normal neutrino mass ordering of 2.00 sigma. While adding neutrinoless double beta decay from the latest Gerda, CUORE and KamLAND-Zen results barely modifies this picture, cosmological measurements raise the preference to 2.68 sigma within a conservative approach. A more aggressive data set combination of cosmological observations leads to a similar preference for normal with respect to inverted mass ordering, namely 2.70 sigma. This very same cosmological data set provides 2 sigma upper limits on the total neutrino mass corresponding to Sigma m(nu)< 0.12 (0.15) eV in the normal (inverted) neutrino mass ordering scenario. The bounds on the neutrino mixing parameters and masses presented in this up-to-date global fit analysis include all currently available neutrino physics inputs.
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