Future Long-baseline Experiments Research Articles

Constraining non-unitary neutrino mixing using matter effects in atmospheric neutrinos at INO-ICAL

The mass-induced neutrino oscillation is a well established phenomenon that is based on the unitary mixing among three light active neutrinos. Remarkable precision on neutrino mixing parameters over the last decade or so has opened up the prospects for testing the possible non-unitarity of the standard 3ν mixing matrix, which may arise in the seesaw extensions of the Standard Model due to the admixture of three light active neutrinos with heavy isosinglet neutrinos. Because of this non-unitary neutrino mixing (NUNM), the oscillation probabilities among the three active neutrinos would be altered as compared to the probabilities obtained assuming a unitary 3ν mixing matrix. In such a NUNM scenario, neutrinos can experience an additional matter effect due to the neutral current interactions with the ambient neutrons. Atmospheric neutrinos having access to a wide range of energies and baselines can experience a significant modifications in Earth’s matter effect due to NUNM. In this paper, we study in detail how the NUNM parameter α32 affects the muon neutrino and antineutrino survival probabilities in a different way. Then, we place a comparable and complementary constraint on α32 in a model independent fashion using the proposed 50 kt magnetized Iron Calorimeter (ICAL) detector under the India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) project, which can efficiently detect the atmospheric νμ and ν¯μ\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ {\\overline{\ u}}_{\\mu } $$\\end{document} separately in the multi-GeV energy range. Further, we discuss the advantage of charge identification capability of ICAL and the impact of uncertainties in oscillation parameters while constraining α32. We also compare the α32 sensitivity of ICAL with that of future long-baseline experiments DUNE and T2HK in isolation and combination.

Probing general U(1)′ models with non-universal lepton charges at FASER/FASER2, COHERENT and long-baseline oscillation experiments

The general anomaly-free U(1)′ models allow non-universal lepton charges. We explore the sensitivities of FASER/FASER2, COHERENT and DUNE/T2HK precision experiments to the new gauge boson Z′ and the new CP-even scalar ϕ. With non-universal lepton charges, distinctive reaches at FASER/FASER2 emerge in the regime of low mZ′\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ {m}_{Z^{\\prime }} $$\\end{document} and small gauge coupling gBL for different U(1)′ charge setups. The COHERENT experiment and the future long-baseline experiments DUNE/T2HK also provide complementary probes to the available parameter space. For mϕ< 2mZ′\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ {m}_{Z^{\\prime }} $$\\end{document}, the search for the scalar ϕ at FASER/FASER2 is sensitive to the mixing angle between the scalar singlet and the SM Higgs. In the case of mϕ> 2mZ′\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ {m}_{Z^{\\prime }} $$\\end{document}, the kinematically allowed decay ϕ → Z′Z′ changes the lifetime and decay rates of the scalar ϕ. The sensitivity reach highly depends on the Z′ mass and the gauge coupling gBL.

Neutron detection and application with a novel 3D-projection scintillator tracker in the future long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments

Neutrino oscillation experiments require a precise measurement of the neutrino energy. However, the kinematic detection of the final-state neutron in the neutrino interaction is missing in current neutrino oscillation experiments. The missing neutron kinematic detection results in a feed-down of the detected neutrino energy compared to the true neutrino energy. A novel 3D\textcolor{black}{-}projection scintillator tracker, which consists of roughly ten million active cubes covered with an optical reflector, is capable of measuring the neutron kinetic energy and direction on an event-by-event basis using the time-of-flight technique thanks to the fast timing, fine granularity, and high light yield. The $\bar{\nu}_{\mu}$ interactions tend to produce neutrons in the final state. By inferring the neutron kinetic energy, the $\bar{\nu}_{\mu}$ energy can be reconstructed better, allowing a tighter incoming neutrino flux constraint. This paper shows the detector's ability to reconstruct neutron kinetic energy and the $\bar{\nu}_{\mu}$ flux constraint achieved by selecting the charged-current interactions without mesons or protons in the final state.

Investigating Lorentz Invariance Violation with the long baseline experiment P2O

One of the basic propositions of quantum field theory is Lorentz invariance. The spontaneous breaking of Lorentz symmetry at a high energy scale can be studied at low energy extensions like the Standard model in a model-independent way through effective field theory (EFT). The present and future Long-baseline neutrino experiments can give a scope to observe such a Planck-suppressed physics of Lorentz invariance violation (LIV). A proposed long baseline experiment, Protvino to ORCA (dubbed “P2O”) with a baseline of 2595 km, is expected to provide good sensitivities to unresolved issues, especially neutrino mass ordering. P2O can offer good statistics even with a moderate beam power and runtime, owing to the very large (~ 6 Mt) detector volume at KM3NeT/ ORCA. Here we discuss in detail, how the individual LIV parameters affect neutrino oscillations at P2O and DUNE baselines at the level of probability and derive analytical expressions to understand interesting degeneracies and other features. We estimate ∆χ2 sensitivities to the LIV parameters, analyzing their correlations among each other, and also with the standard oscillation parameters. We calculate these results for P2O alone and also carry out a combined analysis of P2O with DUNE. We point out crucial features in the sensitivity contours and explain them qualitatively with the help of the relevant probability expressions derived here. Finally we estimate constraints on the individual LIV parameters at 95% confidence level (C.L.) intervals stemming from the combined analysis of P2O and DUNE datasets, and highlight the improvement over the existing constraints. We also find out that the additional degeneracy induced by the LIV parameter aee around −22 × 10−23 GeV is lifted by the combined analysis at 95% C.L.

Measurement of proton-carbon forward scattering in a proof-of-principle test of the EMPHATIC spectrometer

The next generation of long-baseline neutrino experiments will be capable of precision measurements of neutrino oscillation parameters, precision neutrino-nucleus scattering, and unprecedented sensitivity to physics beyond the Standard Model. Reduced uncertainties in neutrino fluxes are necessary to achieve high precision and sensitivity in these future precise neutrino measurements. New measurements of hadron-nucleus interaction cross sections are needed to reduce uncertainties of neutrino fluxes. We report measurements of the differential cross-section as a function of scattering angle for proton-carbon interactions with a single charged particle in the final state at beam momenta of 20, 30, and 120 GeV/c. These measurements are the result of a beam test for EMPHATIC, a hadron-scattering and hadron-production experiment. The total, elastic and inelastic cross-sections are also extracted from the data and compared to previous measurements. These results can be used in current and future long-baseline neutrino experiments, and demonstrate the feasibility of future measurements by an upgraded EMPHATIC spectrometer.

Probing free nucleons with (anti)neutrinos

We discuss a method to study free protons and neutrons using ν(ν¯)-hydrogen (H) Charged Current (CC) inelastic interactions, together with various precision tests of the isospin (charge) symmetry using ν and ν¯ CC interactions on both H and nuclear targets. Probing free nucleons with (anti)neutrinos provides information about their partonic structure, as well as a crucial input for the modeling of ν(ν¯)-nucleus (A) interactions. Such measurements concurrently represent a valuable tool to address the main limitations of accelerator-based neutrino scattering experiments on nuclear targets, originating from the combined effect of the unknown (anti)neutrino energy and of the nuclear smearing. To this end, we present a method to impose constraints on nuclear effects and calibrate the (anti)neutrino energy scale in ν(ν¯)-A interactions, which are two outstanding systematic uncertainties affecting present and future long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments.

ν-e Scattering radiative corrections in a short baseline experiment

Precision tests in future long-baseline experiments will measure neutrino oscillation properties with high accuracy. Besides, with their near detectors will be possible to perform measurements with high statistics, such as neutrino scattering with electrons, among other neutrino interactions. Near detectors will give the chance to measure the radiative corrections of this process with unprecedented precision. This work will discuss how the test of the radiative corrections in the neutrino-electron scattering may measure the neutrino charge radius.

Sensitivity of accelerator-based neutrino experiments to neutrino-electron scattering radiative corrections

Future long-baseline neutrino experiments will measure neutrino oscillation properties with unprecedented precision and will search for clear signatures of CP violation in the leptonic sector. Near detectors can measure the neutrino-electron scattering with high statistics, giving the chance for its precise measurement. We study, in this work, the expectations for the measurement of radiative corrections in this process. We focus on the determination of contributions that are exclusive to the neutrino channels, particularly on the neutrino charge radius. We illustrate how the perspectives in a first clear measurement of this effective quantity are encouraging.

Measurement of neutrino-induced neutral-current coherent π0 production in the NOvA near detector

The cross section of neutrino-induced neutral-current coherent π0 production on a carbon-dominated target is measured in the NOvA near detector. This measurement uses a narrow-band neutrino beam with an average neutrino energy of 2.7 GeV, which is of interest to ongoing and future long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments. The measured, flux-averaged cross section is σ=13.8±0.9(stat)±2.3(syst)×10−40 cm2/nucleus, consistent with model prediction. This result is the most precise measurement of neutral-current coherent π0 production in the few-GeV neutrino energy region.4 MoreReceived 5 February 2019Revised 22 June 2020Accepted 23 June 2020DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.102.012004Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI. Funded by SCOAP3.Published by the American Physical SocietyPhysics Subject Headings (PhySH)Research AreasElectroweak interactionNeutrino interactionsNucleus-neutrino interactionsPhysical SystemsNeutrinosParticles & Fields

Testing NSI suggested by solar neutrino tension in T2HKK and DUNE

It was shown that the tension between the mass-squared differences obtained from solar neutrinos and those acquired through KamLAND experiments may be solved by the introduction of a non-standard flavor-dependent interaction (NSI) in neutrino propagation. In this study, we discuss the possibility of testing such a hypothesis using the future long-baseline neutrino experiments T2HKK and DUNE. Assuming that the NSI does not exist, we provide the excluded region within the ([Formula: see text], [Formula: see text]) plane, where [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] are the parameters appearing in the solar neutrino analysis conducted with the NSI. We find that the best fit value from the solar neutrino and KamLAND data (global analysis of a particular coupling to quarks) can be tested at more than [Formula: see text] by these two experiments for most of the parameter space.

Measurements of hadron production in π++C and π++Be interactions at 60 GeV/c

Precise knowledge of hadron production rates in the generation of neutrino beams is necessary for accelerator-based neutrino experiments to achieve their physics goals. NA61/SHINE, a large-acceptance hadron spectrometer, has recorded hadron+nucleus interactions relevant to ongoing and future long-baseline neutrino experiments at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. This paper presents three analyses of interactions of 60 GeV/$c$ $\pi^+$ with thin, fixed carbon and beryllium targets. Integrated production and inelastic cross sections were measured for both of these reactions. In an analysis of strange, neutral hadron production, differential production multiplicities of $K^0_{S}$, $\Lambda$ and anti-$\Lambda$ were measured. Lastly, in an analysis of charged hadron production, differential production multiplicities of $\pi^+$, $\pi^-$, $K^+$, $K^-$ and protons were measured. These measurements will enable long-baseline neutrino experiments to better constrain predictions of their neutrino flux in order to achieve better precision on their neutrino cross section and oscillation measurements.

A precise determination of (anti)neutrino fluxes with (anti)neutrino-hydrogen interactions

We present a novel method to accurately determine the flux of neutrinos and antineutrinos, one of the dominant systematic uncertainty affecting current and future long-baseline neutrino experiments, as well as precision neutrino scattering experiment. Using exclusive topologies in ν(ν¯)-hydrogen interactions, νμp→μ−pπ+, ν¯μp→μ+pπ−, and ν¯μp→μ+n with small hadronic energy, we achieve an overall accuracy on the relative fluxes better than 1% in the energy range covering most of the available flux. Since we cannot rely on simulations nor model corrections at this level of precision, we present techniques to constrain all relevant systematic uncertainties using data themselves. The method can be implemented using the approach we recently proposed to collect high statistics samples of ν(ν¯)-hydrogen interactions in a low-density and high-resolution detector, which could serve as part of the near detector complex in a long-baseline neutrino experiment, as well as a dedicated beam monitoring detector.

Matter effects in neutrino visible decay at future long-baseline experiments

Neutrino visible decay in the presence of matter is re-evaluated. We study these effects in two future long-baseline experiments where matter effects are relevant: DUNE (1300 km) and a hypothetical beam aimed towards ANDES (7650 km). We find that matter effects are negligible for the visible component of neutrino decay at DUNE, being much more relevant at ANDES. We perform a detailed simulation of DUNE, considering nu _mu disappearance and nu _e appearance channels, for both FHC and RHC modes. The sensitivity to the decay constant alpha _3 can be as low as 2times 10^{-6} eV^2 at 90% C.L., depending on the neutrino masses and type of coupling. We also show the impact of neutrino decay in the determination of theta _{23} and delta _mathrm{CP}, and find that the best-fit value of theta _{23} can move from a true value at the lower octant towards the higher octant.

Fuzzy dark matter and nonstandard neutrino interactions

We discuss novel ways in which neutrino oscillation experiments can probe dark matter. In particular, we focus on interactions between neutrinos and ultra-light ("fuzzy") dark matter particles with masses of order $10^{-22}$ eV. It has been shown previously that such dark matter candidates are phenomenologically successful and might help ameliorate the tension between predicted and observed small scale structures in the Universe. We argue that coherent forward scattering of neutrinos on fuzzy dark matter particles can significantly alter neutrino oscillation probabilities. These effects could be observable in current and future experiments. We set new limits on fuzzy dark matter interacting with neutrinos using T2K and solar neutrino data, and we estimate the sensitivity of reactor neutrino experiments and of future long-baseline accelerator experiments. These results are based on detailed simulations in GLoBES. We allow the dark matter particle to be either a scalar or a vector boson. In the latter case, we find potentially interesting connections to models addressing various $B$ physics anomalies.

Reactor and atmospheric neutrino mixing angles’ correlation as a probe for new physics

We performed a simulation on the DUNE experiment to probe the capability of future neutrino long-baseline experiments' ability to constrain the parameter space of high-energy models by using the correlation between the atmospheric and reactor mixing angles. As an example, we took the Tetrahedral Flavour Symmetry model, which predicts a strong relation between the non-zero value of $\theta_{13}$ and deviation of $\theta_{23}$ from the maximality. We show that in this case, the model can realistically be excluded in more than $3\sigma$ for most of the parameter space. We also study the octant degeneracy at DUNE and its impact on the sensitivity of such models.

Sizable NSI from the SU(2)L scalar doublet-singlet mixing and the implications in DUNE

We propose a novel and simple mechanism where sizable effects of non-standard interactions (NSI) in neutrino propagation are induced from the mixing between an electrophilic second Higgs doublet and a charged singlet. The mixing arises from a dimensionful coupling of the scalar doublet and singlet to the standard model Higgs boson. In light of the small mass, the light mass eigenstate from the doublet-singlet mixing can generate much larger NSI than those induced by the heavy eigenstate. We show that a sizable NSI εeτ (∼0.3) can be attained without being excluded by a variety of experimental constraints. Furthermore, we demonstrate that NSI can mimic effects of the Dirac CP phase in the neutrino mixing matrix but they can potentially be disentangled by future long-baseline neutrino experiments, such as the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE).

Neutrino Phenomenology: Highlights of Oscillation Results and Future Prospects

In this talk the current status of neutrino oscillation parameters are presented. The prospects of determination of neutrino mass hierarchy, octant of θ23 and the CP phase δCP in future long-baseline and atmospheric experiments are reviewed. The impact of precision measurement of oscillation parameters on neutrino mass models are also discussed.

Non-standard interactions in propagation at the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment

We study the sensitivity of current and future long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments to the effects of dimension six operators affecting neutrino propagation through Earth, commonly referred to as Non-Standard Interactions (NSI). All relevant parameters entering the oscillation probabilities (standard and non-standard) are considered at once, in order to take into account possible cancellations and degeneracies between them. We find that the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment will significantly improve over current constraints for most NSI parameters. Most notably, it will be able to rule out the so-called LMA-dark solution, still compatible with current oscillation data, and will be sensitive to off-diagonal NSI parameters at the level of $\varepsilon \sim \mathcal{O}(0.05 - 0.5)$. We also identify two degeneracies among standard and non-standard parameters, which could be partially resolved by combining T2HK and DUNE data.

First demonstration of imaging cosmic muons in a two-phase Liquid Argon TPC using an EMCCD camera and a THGEM

Colossal two-phase Liquid Argon Time Projection Chambers (LAr TPCs) are a proposed option for future long-baseline neutrino experiments. This study illustrates the feasibility of using an EMCCD camera to capture light induced by single cosmic events in a two-phase LAr TPC employing a THGEM. An Andor iXon Ultra 897 EMCCD camera was externally mounted via a borosilicate glass viewport on the Liverpool two-phase LAr TPC. The camera successfully captured the secondary scintillation light produced at the THGEM holes that had been induced by cosmic events. The light collection capability of the camera for various EMCCD gains was assessed. For a THGEM gain of 64 and an EMCCD gain of 1000, clear images were captured with an average signal-to-noise ratio of 6. Preliminary 3D reconstruction of straight cosmic muon tracks has been performed by combining the camera images, PMT signals and THGEM charge data. Reconstructed cosmic muon tracks were used to determine THGEM gain and to calibrate the intensity levels of the EMCCD image.

Statistical issues in long baseline neutrino physics

An animated debate has been ongoing in the neutrino community on how to estimate and quote the expected sensitivity of future long-baseline neutrino experiments to key parameters such as Mass Hierarchy or CP violation. We will present an overview of some items covered by recent papers and will detail the approach chosen by the LBNO Collaboration to present its results.