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ANTARES Collaboration(Albert, A. et al), Barrios-Marti, J., Hernandez-Rey, J. J., Illuminati, G., Lotze, M., Tönnis, C., et al. (2017). Search for high-energy neutrinos from bright GRBs with ANTARES. Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc., 469(1), 906–915.
Abstract: Gamma-ray bursts are thought to be sites of hadronic acceleration, thus neutrinos are expected from the decay of charged particles, produced in p gamma interactions. The methods and results of a search for muon neutrinos in the data of the ANTARES neutrino telescope from four bright GRBs (GRB 080916C, GRB 110918A, GRB 130427A and GRB 130505A) observed between 2008 and 2013 are presented. Two scenarios of the fireball model have been investigated: the internal shock scenario, leading to the production of neutrinos with energies mainly above 100 TeV, and the photospheric scenario, characterized by a low-energy component in neutrino spectra due to the assumption of neutrino production closer to the central engine. Since no neutrino events have been detected in temporal and spatial coincidence with these bursts, upper limits at 90 per cent confidence level on the expected neutrino fluxes are derived. The non-detection allows for directly constraining the bulk Lorentz factor of the jet Gamma and the baryon loading f(p).
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Serenelli, A., Scott, P., Villante, F. L., Vincent, A. C., Asplund, M., Basu, S., et al. (2016). Implications of solar wind measurements for solar models and composition. Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc., 463(1), 2–9.
Abstract: We critically examine recent claims of a high solar metallicity by von Steiger & Zurbuchen (2016, vSZ16) based onin situ measurements of the solar wind, rather than the standard spectroscopically inferred abundances (Asplund et al. 2009, hereafter AGSS09). We test the claim by Vagnozzi et al. (2016) that a composition based on the solar wind enables one to construct a standard solar model in agreement with helioseismological observations and thus solve the decades-old solar modelling problem. We show that, although some helioseismological observables are improved compared to models computed with spectroscopic abundances, most are in fact worse. The high abundance of refractory elements leads to an overproduction of neutrinos, with a predicted B-8 flux that is nearly twice its observed value, and Be-7 and CNO fluxes that are experimentally ruled out at high confidence. A combined likelihood analysis shows that models using the vSZ16 abundances are worse than AGSS09 despite a higher metallicity. We also present astrophysical and spectroscopic arguments showing the vSZ16 composition to be an implausible representation of the solar interior, identifying the first ionization potential effect in the outer solar atmosphere and wind as the likely culprit.
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Villaescusa-Navarro, F., Vogelsberger, M., Viel, M., & Loeb, A. (2013). Neutrino signatures on the high-transmission regions of the Lyman alpha forest. Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc., 431(4), 3670–3677.
Abstract: We quantify the impact of massive neutrinos on the statistics of low-density regions in the intergalactic medium as probed by the Lyman alpha forest at redshifts z = 2.2-4. Based on mock but realistic quasar (QSO) spectra extracted from hydrodynamic simulations with cold dark matter, baryons and neutrinos, we find that the probability distribution of weak Lyman alpha absorption features, as sampled by Lyman alpha flux regions at high transmissivity, is strongly affected by the presence of massive neutrinos. We show that systematic errors affecting the Lyman alpha forest reduce but do not erase the neutrino signal. Using the Fisher matrix formalism, we conclude that the sum of the neutrino masses can be measured, using the method proposed in this paper, with a precision smaller than 0.4 eV using a catalogue of 200 high-resolution (signal-to-noise ratio similar to 100) QSO spectra. This number reduces to 0.27 eV by making use of reasonable priors in the other parameters that also affect the statistics of the high-transitivity regions of the Lyman alpha forest. The constraints obtained with this method can be combined with independent bounds from the cosmic microwave background, large-scale structures and measurements of the matter power spectrum from the Lyman alpha forest to produce tighter upper limits on the sum of the masses of the neutrinos.
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KM3NeT Collaboration(Aiello, S. et al), Alves Garre, S., Calvo, D., Carretero, V., Colomer, M., Corredoira, I., et al. (2020). gSeaGen: The KM3NeT GENIE-based code for neutrino telescopes. Comput. Phys. Commun., 256, 107477–15pp.
Abstract: The gSeaGen code is a GENIE-based application developed to efficiently generate high statistics samples of events, induced by neutrino interactions, detectable in a neutrino telescope. The gSeaGen code is able to generate events induced by all neutrino flavours, considering topological differences between tracktype and shower-like events. Neutrino interactions are simulated taking into account the density and the composition of the media surrounding the detector. The main features of gSeaGen are presented together with some examples of its application within the KM3NeT project. Program summary Program Title: gSeaGen CPC Library link to program files: http://dx.doi.org/10.17632/ymgxvy2br4.1 Licensing provisions: GPLv3 Programming language: C++ External routines/libraries: GENIE [1] and its external dependencies. Linkable to MUSIC [2] and PROPOSAL [3]. Nature of problem: Development of a code to generate detectable events in neutrino telescopes, using modern and maintained neutrino interaction simulation libraries which include the state-of-the-art physics models. The default application is the simulation of neutrino interactions within KM3NeT [4]. Solution method: Neutrino interactions are simulated using GENIE, a modern framework for Monte Carlo event generators. The GENIE framework, used by nearly all modern neutrino experiments, is considered as a reference code within the neutrino community. Additional comments including restrictions and unusual features: The code was tested with GENIE version 2.12.10 and it is linkable with release series 3. Presently valid up to 5 TeV. This limitation is not intrinsic to the code but due to the present GENIE valid energy range. References: [1] C. Andreopoulos at al., Nucl. Instrum. Meth. A614 (2010) 87. [2] P. Antonioli et al., Astropart. Phys. 7 (1997) 357. [3] J. H. Koehne et al., Comput. Phys. Commun. 184 (2013) 2070. [4] S. Adrian-Martinez et al., J. Phys. G: Nucl. Part. Phys. 43 (2016) 084001.
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ANTARES Collaboration(Albert, A. et al), Barrios-Marti, J., Coleiro, A., Hernandez-Rey, J. J., Illuminati, G., Lotze, M., et al. (2017). An Algorithm for the Reconstruction of Neutrino-induced Showers in the ANTARES Neutrino Telescope. Astron. J., 154(6), 275–9pp.
Abstract: Muons created by nu(mu) charged current (CC) interactions in the water surrounding the ANTARES neutrino telescope have been almost exclusively used so far in searches for cosmic neutrino sources. Due to their long range, highly energetic muons inducing Cherenkov radiation in the water are reconstructed with dedicated algorithms that allow for the determination of the parent neutrino direction with a median angular resolution of about 0 degrees.4 for an E-2 neutrino spectrum. In this paper, an algorithm optimized for accurate reconstruction of energy and direction of shower events in the ANTARES detector is presented. Hadronic showers of electrically charged particles are produced by the disintegration of the nucleus both in CC and neutral current interactions of neutrinos in water. In addition, electromagnetic showers result from the CC interactions of electron neutrinos while the decay of a tau lepton produced in nu(tau) CC interactions will, in most cases, lead to either a hadronic or an electromagnetic shower. A shower can be approximated as a point source of photons. With the presented method, the shower position is reconstructed with a precision of about 1 m; the neutrino direction is reconstructed with a median angular resolution between 2 degrees and 3 degrees in the energy range of 1-1000 TeV. In this energy interval, the uncertainty on the reconstructed neutrino energy is about 5%-10%. The increase in the detector sensitivity due to the use of additional information from shower events in the searches for a cosmic neutrino flux is also presented.
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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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Curtin, D. et al, & Hirsch, M. (2019). Long-lived particles at the energy frontier: the MATHUSLA physics case. Rep. Prog. Phys., 82(11), 116201–133pp.
Abstract: We examine the theoretical motivations for long-lived particle (LLP) signals at the LHC in a comprehensive survey of standard model (SM) extensions. LLPs are a common prediction of a wide range of theories that address unsolved fundamental mysteries such as naturalness, dark matter, baryogenesis and neutrino masses, and represent a natural and generic possibility for physics beyond the SM (BSM). In most cases the LLP lifetime can be treated as a free parameter from the μm scale up to the Big Bang Nucleosynthesis limit of similar to 10(7) m. Neutral LLPs with lifetimes above similar to 100 m are particularly difficult to probe, as the sensitivity of the LHC main detectors is limited by challenging backgrounds, triggers, and small acceptances. MATHUSLA is a proposal for a minimally instrumented, large-volume surface detector near ATLAS or CMS. It would search for neutral LLPs produced in HL-LHC collisions by reconstructing displaced vertices (DVs) in a low-background environment, extending the sensitivity of the main detectors by orders of magnitude in the long-lifetime regime. We study the LLP physics opportunities afforded by a MATHUSLA-like detector at the HL-LHC, assuming backgrounds can be rejected as expected. We develop a model-independent approach to describe the sensitivity of MATHUSLA to BSM LLP signals, and compare it to DV and missing energy searches at ATLAS or CMS. We then explore the BSM motivations for LLPs in considerable detail, presenting a large number of new sensitivity studies. While our discussion is especially oriented towards the long-lifetime regime at MATHUSLA, this survey underlines the importance of a varied LLP search program at the LHC in general. By synthesizing these results into a general discussion of the top-down and bottom-up motivations for LLP searches, it is our aim to demonstrate the exceptional strength and breadth of the physics case for the construction of the MATHUSLA detector.
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Tortola, M. (2013). Status of three-neutrino oscillation parameters. Fortschritte Phys.-Prog. Phys., 61(4-5), 427–440.
Abstract: Here we review the current status of global fits to neutrino oscillation data within the three-flavour framework. In our analysis we include the most recent data from solar and atmospheric neutrino experiments as well as the latest results from the long-baseline accelerator neutrino experiments and the recent measurements of reactor neutrino disappearance reported by Double Chooz, Daya Bay and RENO. We present updated determinations for the two neutrino mass splittings and the three mixing angles responsible for neutrino oscillations that, for the first time, have all been measured with 1 sigma accuracies ranging from 3 to 15%. A weak sensitivity for the CP violating phase is also reported from the global analysis.
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Abdullahi, A. M. et al, & Lopez-Pavon, J. (2023). The present and future status of heavy neutral leptons. J. Phys. G, 50(2), 020501–100pp.
Abstract: The existence of nonzero neutrino masses points to the likely existence of multiple Standard Model neutral fermions. When such states are heavy enough that they cannot be produced in oscillations, they are referred to as heavy neutral leptons (HNLs). In this white paper, we discuss the present experimental status of HNLs including colliders, beta decay, accelerators, as well as astrophysical and cosmological impacts. We discuss the importance of continuing to search for HNLs, and its potential impact on our understanding of key fundamental questions, and additionally we outline the future prospects for next-generation future experiments or upcoming accelerator run scenarios.
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Feng, J. L. et al, Garcia Soto, A., & Hirsch, M. (2023). The Forward Physics Facility at the High-Luminosity LHC. J. Phys. G, 50(3), 030501–410pp.
Abstract: High energy collisions at the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (LHC) produce a large number of particles along the beam collision axis, outside of the acceptance of existing LHC experiments. The proposed Forward Physics Facility (FPF), to be located several hundred meters from the ATLAS interaction point and shielded by concrete and rock, will host a suite of experiments to probe standard model (SM) processes and search for physics beyond the standard model (BSM). In this report, we review the status of the civil engineering plans and the experiments to explore the diverse physics signals that can be uniquely probed in the forward region. FPF experiments will be sensitive to a broad range of BSM physics through searches for new particle scattering or decay signatures and deviations from SM expectations in high statistics analyses with TeV neutrinos in this low-background environment. High statistics neutrino detection will also provide valuable data for fundamental topics in perturbative and non-perturbative QCD and in weak interactions. Experiments at the FPF will enable synergies between forward particle production at the LHC and astroparticle physics to be exploited. We report here on these physics topics, on infrastructure, detector, and simulation studies, and on future directions to realize the FPF's physics potential.
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