Abstract: We illustrate how recently improved low-redshift cosmological measurements can tighten constraints on neutrino properties. In particular we examine the impact of the assumed cosmological model on the constraints. We first consider the new HST H-0 = 74.2 +/- 3.6 measurement by Riess et al. (2009) and the sigma(8)(Omega(m)/0.25)(0.41) = 0.832 +/- 0.033 constraint from Rozo et al. (2009) derived from the SDSS maxBCG Cluster Catalog. In a ACDM model and when combined with WMAP5 constraints, these low-redshift measurements constrain Sigma m(v) < 0.4 eV at the 95% confidence level. This bound does not relax when allowing for the running of the spectral index or for primordial tensor perturbations. When adding also Supernovae and BAO constraints, we obtain a 95% upper limit of Sigma m(v) < 0.3eV. We test the sensitivity of the neutrino mass constraint to the assumed expansion history by both allowing a dark energy equation of state parameter w not equal -1 and by studying a model with coupling between dark energy and dark matter, which allows for variation in w, Omega(k), and dark coupling strength xi. When combining CMB, H-0 and the SDSS LRG halo power spectrum from Reid et al. 2009, we find that in this very general model, Sigma m(v) < 0.51 eV with 95% confidence. If we allow the number of relativistic species N-rel to vary in a ACDM model with Sigma m(v) = 0, we find N-rel = 3.76(-0.68)(+0.63)(+1.38 -1.21) for the 68% and 95% confidence intervals. We also report prior-independent constraints, which are in excellent agreement with the Bayesian constraints.

Abstract: We propose a realization of the so-called bimodal/schizophrenic model proposed recently. We assume 54, the permutation group of four objects as flavor symmetry giving tri-bimaximal lepton mixing at leading order. In these models the second massive neutrino state is assumed quasi-Dirac and the remaining neutrinos are Majorana states. In the case of inverse mass hierarchy, the lower bound on the neutrinoless double beta decay parameter m(ee) is about two times that of the usual lower bound, within the range of sensitivity of the next generation of experiments.

Abstract: Over the last ten years tri-bimaximal mixing has played an important role in modeling the flavour problem. We give a short review of the status of flavour symmetry models of neutrino mixing. We concentrate on non-Abelian discrete symmetries, which provide a simple way to account for the TBM pattern. We discuss phenomenological implications such as neutrinoless double beta decay, lepton flavour violation as well as theoretical aspects such as the possibility to explain quarks and leptons within a common framework, such as grand unified models.

Abstract: We investigate the non-linear evolution of the relic cosmic neutrino background by running large box-size, high resolution N-body simulations which incorporate cold dark matter (CDM) and neutrinos as independent particle species. Our set of simulations explore the properties of neutrinos in a reference Lambda CDM model with total neutrino masses between 0.05-0.60 eV in cold dark matter haloes of mass 10(11) – 10(15) h(-1) M-circle dot, over a redshift range z = 0 – 2. We compute the halo mass function and show that it is reasonably well fitted by the Sheth-Tormen formula, once the neutrino contribution to the total matter is removed. More importantly, we focus on the CDM and neutrino properties of the density and peculiar velocity fields in the cosmological volume, inside and in the outskirts of virialized haloes. The dynamical state of the neutrino particles depends strongly on their momentum: whereas neutrinos in the low velocity tail behave similarly to CDM particles, neutrinos in the high velocity tail are not affected by the clustering of the underlying CDM component. We find that the neutrino (linear) unperturbed momentum distribution is modified and mass and redshift dependent deviations from the expected Fermi-Dirac distribution are in place both in the cosmological volume and inside haloes. The neutrino density profiles around virialized haloes have been carefully investigated and a simple fitting formula is provided. The neutrino profile, unlike the cold dark matter one, is found to be cored with core size and central density that depend on the neutrino mass, redshift and mass of the halo, for halos of masses larger than similar to 10(13.5) h(-1) M-circle dot. For lower masses the neutrino profile is best fitted by a simple power-law relation in the range probed by the simulations. The results we obtain are numerically converged in terms of neutrino profiles at the 10% level for scales above similar to 200 h(-1) kpc at z = 0, and are stable with respect to box-size and starting redshift of the simulation. Our findings are particularly important in view of upcoming large-scale structure surveys, like Euclid, that are expected to probe the non-linear regime at the percent level with lensing and clustering observations.

Abstract: Neutrino mass generation through the Higgs mechanism not only suggests the need to reconsider the physics of electroweak symmetry breaking from a new perspective, but also provides a new theoretically consistent and experimentally viable paradigm. We illustrate this by describing the main features of the electroweak symmetry breaking sector of the simplest type-II seesaw model with spontaneous breaking of lepton number. After reviewing the relevant `theoretical' and astrophysical restrictions on the Higgs sector, we perform an analysis of the sensitivities of Higgs Boson searches at the ongoing ATLAS and CMS experiments at the LHC, including not only the new contributions to the decay channels present in the standard model (SM) but also genuinely non-SM Higgs Boson decays, such as `invisible' Higgs Boson decays to majorons. We find sensitivities that are likely to be reached at the upcoming run of the experiments.