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: We discuss the bounds on the cosmological lepton number from Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN), in light of recent evidences for a large value of the neutrino mixing angle theta(13), sin(2) theta(13) greater than or similar to 0.01 at 2 sigma. The largest asymmetries for electron and mu, tau neutrinos compatible with He-4 and H-2 primordial yields are computed versus the neutrino mass hierarchy and mixing angles. The flavour oscillation dynamics is traced till the beginning of BBN and neutrino distributions after decoupling are numerically computed. The latter contains in general, non-thermal distortion due to the onset of flavour oscillations driven by solar squared mass difference in the temperature range where neutrino scatterings become inefficient to enforce thermodynamical equilibrium. Depending on the value of theta(13), this translates into a larger value for the effective number of neutrinos, N-eff. Upper bounds on this parameter are discussed for both neutrino mass hierarchies. Values for N-eff which are large enough to be detectable by the Planck experiment are found only for the (presently disfavoured) range sin(2) theta(13) <= 0.01.

Abstract: The minimal Standard Model extension with the Weinberg operator does accommodate the observed neutrino masses and mixing, but predicts a neutrinoless double beta (0 nu beta beta) decay rate proportional to the effective electron neutrino mass, which can be then arbitrarily small within present experimental limits. However, in general 0 nu beta beta decay can have an independent origin and be near its present experimental bound; whereas neutrino masses are generated radiatively, contributing negligibly to 0 nu beta beta decay. We provide a realization of this scenario in a simple, well defined and testable model, with potential LHC effects and calculable neutrino masses, whose two-loop expression we derive exactly. We also discuss the connection of this model to others that have appeared in the literature, and remark on the significant differences that result from various choices of quantum number assignments and symmetry assumptions. In this type of models lepton flavor violating rates are also preferred to be relatively large, at the reach of foreseen experiments. Interestingly enough, in our model this stands for a large third mixing angle, sin(2) theta(13) greater than or similar to 0.008, when μ-> eee is required to lie below its present experimental limit.