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Hajjar, R., Mena, O., & Palomares-Ruiz, S. (2023). Earth tomography with supernova neutrinos at future neutrino detectors. Phys. Rev. D, 108(8), 083011–24pp.
Abstract: Earth neutrino tomography is a realistic possibility with current and future neutrino detectors, complementary to geophysics methods. The two main approaches are based on either partial absorption of the neutrino flux as it propagates through Earth (at energies about a few TeV) or on coherent Earth matter effects affecting the neutrino oscillations pattern (at energies below a few tens of GeV). In this work, we consider the latter approach, focusing on supernova neutrinos with tens of MeV. Whereas at GeVenergies, Earth matter effects are driven by the atmospheric mass-squared difference, at energies below similar to 100 MeV, it is the solar mass-squared difference that controls them. Unlike solar neutrinos, which suffer from significant weakening of the contribution to the oscillatory effect from remote structures due to the neutrino energy reconstruction capabilities of detectors, supernova neutrinos can have higher energies and, thus, can better probe Earth's interior. We shall revisit this possibility, using the most recent neutrino oscillation parameters and up-to-date supernova neutrino spectra. The capabilities of future neutrino detectors, such as DUNE, Hyper-Kamiokande, and JUNO, are presented, including the impact of the energy resolution and other factors. Assuming a supernova burst at 10 kpc, we show that the average Earth's core density could be determined within less than or similar to 10% at 1 sigma confidence level, Hyper-Kamiokande being, with its largest mass, the most promising detector to achieve this goal.
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Mena, O., Palomares-Ruiz, S., & Vincent, A. C. (2014). Flavor Composition of the High-Energy Neutrino Events in IceCube. Phys. Rev. Lett., 113(9), 091103–5pp.
Abstract: The IceCube experiment has recently reported the observation of 28 high-energy (> 30 TeV) neutrino events, separated into 21 showers and 7 muon tracks, consistent with an extraterrestrial origin. In this Letter, we compute the compatibility of such an observation with possible combinations of neutrino flavors with relative proportion (alpha(e:)alpha(mu):alpha tau)(circle plus). Although the 7: 21 track-to-shower ratio is naively favored for the canonical (1:1:1)(circle plus) at Earth, this is not true once the atmospheric muon and neutrino backgrounds are properly accounted for. We find that, for an astrophysical neutrino E-2 energy spectrum, (1:1:1)(circle plus). at Earth is disfavored at 81% C. L. If this proportion does not change, 6 more years of data would be needed to exclude (1:1:1)(circle plus) at Earth at 3 sigma C.L. Indeed, with the recently released 3-yr data, that flavor composition is excluded at 92% C. L. The best fit is obtained for (1:0:0)(circle plus). at Earth, which cannot be achieved from any flavor ratio at sources with averaged oscillations during propagation. If confirmed, this result would suggest either a misunderstanding of the expected background events or a misidentification of tracks as showers, or even more compellingly, some exotic physics which deviates from the standard scenario.
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Addazi, A. et al, Martinez-Mirave, P., Mitsou, V. A., Palomares-Ruiz, S., Tortola, M., & Zornoza, J. D. (2022). Quantum gravity phenomenology at the dawn of the multi-messenger era-A review. Prog. Part. Nucl. Phys., 125, 103948–119pp.
Abstract: The exploration of the universe has recently entered a new era thanks to the multi-messenger paradigm, characterized by a continuous increase in the quantity and quality of experimental data that is obtained by the detection of the various cosmic messengers (photons, neutrinos, cosmic rays and gravitational waves) from numerous origins. They give us information about their sources in the universe and the properties of the intergalactic medium. Moreover, multi-messenger astronomy opens up the possibility to search for phenomenological signatures of quantum gravity. On the one hand, the most energetic events allow us to test our physical theories at energy regimes which are not directly accessible in accelerators; on the other hand, tiny effects in the propagation of very high energy particles could be amplified by cosmological distances. After decades of merely theoretical investigations, the possibility of obtaining phenomenological indications of Planck-scale effects is a revolutionary step in the quest for a quantum theory of gravity, but it requires cooperation between different communities of physicists (both theoretical and experimental). This review, prepared within the COST Action CA18108 “Quantum gravity phenomenology in the multi-messenger approach”, is aimed at promoting this cooperation by giving a state-of-the art account of the interdisciplinary expertise that is needed in the effective search of quantum gravity footprints in the production, propagation and detection of cosmic messengers.
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Moline, A., Sanchez-Conde, M. A., Palomares-Ruiz, S., & Prada, F. (2017). Characterization of subhalo structural properties and implications for dark matter annihilation signals. Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc., 466(4), 4974–4990.
Abstract: A prediction of the standard Lambda cold dark matter cosmology is that dark matter (DM) haloes are teeming with numerous self-bound substructure or subhaloes. The precise properties of these subhaloes represent important probes of the underlying cosmological model. We use data from Via Lactea II and Exploring the Local Volume in Simulations N-body simulations to learn about the structure of subhaloes with masses 10(6)-10(11) h(-1) M circle dot. Thanks to a superb subhalo statistics, we study subhalo properties as a function of distance to host halo centre and subhalo mass, and provide a set of fits that accurately describe the subhalo structure. We also investigate the role of subhaloes on the search for DM annihilation. Previous work has shown that subhaloes are expected to boost the DM signal of their host haloes significantly. Yet, these works traditionally assumed that subhaloes exhibit similar structural properties than those of field haloes, while it is known that subhaloes are more concentrated. Building upon our N-body data analysis, we refine the substructure boost model of Sanchez-Conde & Prada (2014), and find boosts that are a factor 2-3 higher. We further refine the model to include unavoidable tidal stripping effects on the subhalo population. For field haloes, this introduces a moderate (similar to 20-30 per cent) suppression. Yet, for subhaloes like those hosting dwarf galaxy satellites, tidal stripping plays a critical role, the boost being at the level of a few tens of percent at most. We provide a parametrization of the boost for field haloes that can be safely applied over a wide halo mass range.
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Bernal, N., Boehm, C., Palomares-Ruiz, S., Silk, J., & Toma, T. (2013). Observing Higgs boson production through its decay into gamma-rays: A messenger for dark matter candidates. Phys. Lett. B, 723(1-3), 100–106.
Abstract: In this Letter, we study the gamma-ray signatures subsequent to the production of a Higgs boson in space by dark matter annihilations. We investigate the cases where the Higgs boson is produced at rest or slightly boosted and show that such configurations can produce characteristic bumps in the gamma-ray data. These results are relevant in the case of the Standard Model-like Higgs boson provided that the dark matter mass is about 63 GeV, 109 GeV or 126 GeV, but can be generalized to any other Higgs boson masses. Here, we point out that it may be worth looking for a 63 GeV line since it could be the signature of the decay of a Standard Model-like Higgs boson produced in space, as in the case of a di-Higgs final state if m chi similar or equal to 126 GeV. We show that one can set generic constraints on the Higgs boson production rates using its decay properties. In particular, using the Fermi-LAT data from the galactic center, we find that the dark matter annihilation cross section into gamma+ a Standard Model-like Higgs boson produced at rest or near rest cannot exceed (sigma nu) similar to a few 10(-25) cm(3)/s or (sigma-nu) similar to a few 10(-27) cm(3)/s respectively, providing us with information on the Higgs coupling to the dark matter particle. We conclude that Higgs bosons can indeed be used as messengers to explore the dark matter mass range.
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