Neutrino Interactions Research Articles

Examining Neutrino–Matter Interactions in the Cassiopeia A Supernova

Neutrino interactions with stellar material are widely believed to be fundamental to the explosion of massive stars. However, this important process has remained difficult to confirm observationally. We propose a new method to verify it using X-ray observations of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A. The elemental composition in its Fe-rich ejecta that could have been produced at the innermost region of the supernova, where neutrinos are expected to interact, allows us to examine the presence of neutrino interactions. Here we demonstrate that the amount of Mn produced without neutrino nucleosynthesis processes (i.e., the ν- and νp-processes) is too small to explain the Mn/Fe mass ratio we measure (0.14%–0.67%). This result supports the operation of significant neutrino interactions in the Cassiopeia A supernova. If the observed Mn/Fe mass ratio purely reflects the production at the innermost region of the supernova, this would be the first robust confirmation of neutrino–matter interactions in an individual supernova. We further show that the Mn/Fe mass ratio has the potential to constrain supernova neutrino parameters (i.e., total neutrino luminosity, neutrino temperature). Future spatially resolved, high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy will allow us to investigate the details of neutrino–supernova astrophysics through its signatures in elemental composition not only in Cassiopeia A but also in other remnants.

Present and future constraints on flavor-dependent long-range interactions of high-energy astrophysical neutrinos

The discovery of new, flavor-dependent neutrino interactions would provide compelling evidence of physics beyond the Standard Model. We focus on interactions generated by the anomaly-free, gauged, abelian lepton-number symmetries, specifically Le – Lμ, Le – Lτ , and Lμ – Lτ , that introduce a new matter potential sourced by electrons and neutrons, potentially impacting neutrino flavor oscillations. We revisit, revamp, and improve the constraints on these interactions that can be placed via the flavor composition of the diffuse flux of high-energy astrophysical neutrinos, with TeV–PeV energies, i.e., the proportion of νe, νμ, and ντ in the flux. Because we consider mediators of these new interactions to be ultra-light, lighter than 10−10 eV, the interaction range is ultra-long, from km to Gpc, allowing vast numbers of electrons and neutrons in celestial bodies and the cosmological matter distribution to contribute to this new potential. We leverage the present-day and future sensitivity of high-energy neutrino telescopes and of oscillation experiments to estimate the constraints that could be placed on the coupling strength of these interactions. We find that, already today, the IceCube neutrino telescope demonstrates potential to constrain flavor-dependent long-range interactions significantly better than existing constraints, motivating further analysis. We also estimate the improvement in the sensitivity due to the next-generation neutrino telescopes such as IceCube-Gen2, Baikal-GVD, KM3NeT, P-ONE, and TAMBO.

Flavor-dependent long-range neutrino interactions in DUNE & T2HK: alone they constrain, together they discover

Discovering new neutrino interactions would represent evidence of physics beyond the Standard Model. We focus on new flavor-dependent long-range neutrino interactions mediated by ultra-light mediators, with masses below 10−10 eV, introduced by new lepton-number gauge symmetries Le – Lμ, Le – Lτ, and Lμ – Lτ. Because the interaction range is ultra-long, nearby and distant matter — primarily electrons and neutrons — in the Earth, Moon, Sun, Milky Way, and the local Universe, may source a large matter potential that modifies neutrino oscillation probabilities. The upcoming Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) and the Tokai-to-Hyper-Kamiokande (T2HK) long-baseline neutrino experiments will provide an opportunity to search for these interactions, thanks to their high event rates and well-characterized neutrino beams. We forecast their probing power. Our results reveal novel perspectives. Alone, DUNE and T2HK may strongly constrain long-range interactions, setting new limits on their coupling strength for mediators lighter than 10−18 eV. However, if the new interactions are subdominant, then both DUNE and T2HK, together, will be needed to discover them, since their combination lifts parameter degeneracies that weaken their individual sensitivity. DUNE and T2HK, especially when combined, provide a valuable opportunity to explore physics beyond the Standard Model.

Topological interaction of neutrino with photon in a magnetic field — Electroweak Hall effect

The effective interaction of a neutrino with a photon in magnetized plasma is obtained from a strong field expansion in the electroweak standard model. The interaction is expressed by a Chern–Simons form of the neutrino current and the electromagnetic vector potential of the coupling strength proportional to neB×eGF. The derivation of the interaction Lagrangian and its properties are presented.

Precision CMB constraints on eV-scale bosons coupled to neutrinos

The cosmic microwave background (CMB) has proven to be an invaluable tool for studying the properties and interactions of neutrinos, providing insight not only into the sum of neutrino masses but also the free streaming nature of neutrinos prior to recombination. The CMB is a particularly powerful probe of new eV-scale bosons interacting with neutrinos, as these particles can thermalize with neutrinos via the inverse decay process, nu bar{nu } rightarrow X, and suppress neutrino free streaming near recombination – even for couplings as small as lambda _{nu } sim {mathcal {O}}(10^{-13}). Here, we revisit CMB constraints on such bosons, improving upon a number of approximations previously adopted in the literature and generalizing the constraints to a broader class of models. This includes scenarios in which the boson is either spin-0 or spin-1, the number of interacting neutrinos is either N_{textrm{int}} = 1,2 or 3, and the case in which a primordial abundance of the species is present. We apply these bounds to well-motivated models, such as the singlet majoron model or a light U(1)_{L_{mu }-L_{tau }} gauge boson, and find that they represent the leading constraints for masses m_Xsim 1, {textrm{eV}}. Finally, we revisit the extent to which neutrino-philic bosons can ameliorate the Hubble tension, and find that recent improvements in the understanding of how such bosons damp neutrino free streaming reduces the previously found success of this proposal.

Global constraints on non-standard neutrino interactions with quarks and electrons

We derive new constraints on effective four-fermion neutrino non-standard interactions with both quarks and electrons. This is done through the global analysis of neutrino oscillation data and measurements of coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CEνNS) obtained with different nuclei. In doing so, we include not only the effects of new physics on neutrino propagation but also on the detection cross section in neutrino experiments which are sensitive to the new physics. We consider both vector and axial-vector neutral-current neutrino interactions and, for each case, we include simultaneously all allowed effective operators in flavour space. To this end, we use the most general parametrization for their Wilson coefficients under the assumption that their neutrino flavour structure is independent of the charged fermion participating in the interaction. The status of the LMA-D solution is assessed for the first time in the case of new interactions taking place simultaneously with up quarks, down quarks, and electrons. One of the main results of our work are the presently allowed regions for the effective combinations of non-standard neutrino couplings, relevant for long-baseline and atmospheric neutrino oscillation experiments.

Probing non-standard neutrino interactions with interference: insights from dark matter and neutrino experiments

Neutrino-electron scattering experiments play a crucial role in investigating the non-standard interactions of neutrinos.In certain models, these interactions can include interference terms that may affect measurements.Next-generation direct detection experiments, designed primarily for dark-matter searches, are also getting sensitive to probe the neutrino properties.We utilise the data from XENONnT, a direct detection experiment, and Borexino, a low-energy solar neutrino experiment, to investigate the impact of interference on non-standard interactions.Our study considers models with an additional U(1) B-L , including U(1), U(1) L e - L µ , and U(1) L e - L τ , to investigate the impact of interference on non-standard neutrino interactions. We demonstrate that this interference can lead to a transition between the considered non-standard interaction models in the energy range relevant to both the XENONnT and Borexino experiments.This transition can be used to distinguish among the considered models if any signals are observed at direct detection or neutrino experiments.Our findings underscore the importance of accounting for the interference and incorporating both direct detection and solar neutrino experiments to gain a better understanding of neutrino interactions and properties.

Observation of Low-Lying Isomeric States in ^{136}Cs: A New Avenue for Dark Matter and Solar Neutrino Detection in Xenon Detectors.

We report on new measurements establishing the existence of low-lying isomeric states in ^{136}Cs using γ rays produced in ^{136}Xe(p,n)^{136}Cs reactions. Two states with O(100) ns lifetimes are placed in the decay sequence of the ^{136}Cs levels that are populated in charged-current interactions of solar neutrinos and fermionic dark matter with ^{136}Xe. Xenon-based experiments can therefore exploit a delayed-coincidence tag of these interactions, greatly suppressing backgrounds to enable spectroscopic studies of solar neutrinos and dark matter.

A view of coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering

We review the physics of coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering and the results and perspectives for the measurements of the radius of the neutron distribution of the nucleus, of the weak mixing angle, and of new neutrino interactions due to physics beyond the Standard Model.

Probing generalized neutrino interactions with the DUNE Near Detector

We explore the prospects of constraining general non standard interactions involving light mediators through elastic neutrino-electron scattering events at the DUNE Near Detector (ND). We furthermore consider the special cases of light vector mediators in motivated models such as U(1)B−L, textrm{U}{(1)}_{L_{mu }-{L}_{tau }} , E6 and left-right symmetry. The present analysis is based on detailed Monte Carlo simulations of the expected DUNE-ND signal taking into account detector resolution effects, realistic backgrounds as well as On-Axis and Off-Axis neutrino spectra. We show that the high intensity neutrino beam available at Fermilab can place competitive constraints surpassing those of low-energy neutrino searches and direct detection dark matter experiments.

First Direct Observation of Collider Neutrinos with FASER at the LHC.

We report the first direct observation of neutrino interactions at a particle collider experiment. Neutrino candidate events are identified in a 13.6TeV center-of-mass energy pp collision dataset of 35.4 fb^{-1} using the active electronic components of the FASER detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The candidates are required to have a track propagating through the entire length of the FASER detector and be consistent with a muon neutrino charged-current interaction. We infer 153_{-13}^{+12} neutrino interactions with a significance of 16 standard deviations above the background-only hypothesis. These events are consistent with the characteristics expected from neutrino interactions in terms of secondary particle production and spatial distribution, and they imply the observation of both neutrinos and anti-neutrinos with an incident neutrino energy of significantly above 200GeV.

Observation of Collider Muon Neutrinos with the SND@LHC Experiment.

We report the direct observation of muon neutrino interactions with the SND@LHC detector at the Large Hadron Collider. A dataset of proton-proton collisions at sqrt[s]=13.6 TeV collected by SND@LHC in 2022 is used, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.8 fb^{-1}. The search is based on information from the active electronic components of the SND@LHC detector, which covers the pseudorapidity region of 7.2<η<8.4, inaccessible to the other experiments at the collider. Muon neutrino candidates are identified through their charged-current interaction topology, with a track propagating through the entire length of the muon detector. After selection cuts, 8 ν_{μ} interaction candidate events remain with an estimated background of 0.086 events, yielding a significance of about 7 standard deviations for the observed ν_{μ} signal.

Analytic neutrino oscillation probabilities

In the work, we derive exact analytic expressions for (3+N)(3+N)-flavor neutrino oscillation probabilities in an arbitrary matter potential in term of matrix elements and eigenvalues of the Hamiltonian. With the analytic expressions, we demonstrate that nonunitary and nonstandard neutrino interaction scenarios are physically distinct: they satisfy different identities and can in principle be distinguished experimentally. The analytic expressions are implemented in a public code NuProbe, a tool for probing new physics through neutrino oscillations.

High-Energy to Ultrahigh-Energy Neutrino Interactions

The cross sections for neutrino interactions with nucleons have been measured directly in accelerator experiments and through the zenith-angle and energy dependence of neutrino events at the IceCube Neutrino Observatory. Fluxes of high-energy neutrinos are produced at the Large Hadron Collider and by cosmic rays in the atmosphere. High-energy neutrinos also come from astrophysical and cosmic sources. The theory of neutrino interactions is reviewed. Current cross-section measurements and prospects for the future are discussed. The focus here is on neutrino interactions for energies larger than 1 TeV.

A direct detection view of the neutrino NSI landscape

In this article, we study the potential of direct detection experiments to explore the parameter space of general non-standard neutrino interactions (NSI) via solar neutrino scattering. Due to their sensitivity to neutrino-electron and neutrino-nucleus scattering, direct detection provides a complementary view of the NSI landscape to that of spallation sources and neutrino oscillation experiments. In particular, the large admixture of tau neutrinos in the solar flux makes direct detection experiments well-suited to probe the full flavour space of NSI. To study this, we develop a re-parametrisation of the NSI framework that explicitly includes a variable electron contribution and allows for a clear visualisation of the complementarity of the different experimental sources. Using this new parametrisation, we explore how previous bounds from spallation source and neutrino oscillation experiments are impacted. For the first time, we compute limits on NSI from the first results of the XENONnT and LUX-ZEPLIN experiments, and we obtain projections for future xenon-based experiments. These computations have been performed with our newly developed software package, SNuDD. Our results demonstrate the importance of using a more general NSI parametrisation and indicate that next generation direct detection experiments will become powerful probes of neutrino NSI.

Simultaneous Measurement of Muon Neutrino ν_{μ} Charged-Current Single π^{+} Production in CH, C, H_{2}O, Fe, and Pb Targets in MINERvA.

Neutrino-induced charged-current single π^{+} production in the Δ(1232) resonance region is of considerable interest to accelerator-based neutrino oscillation experiments. In this Letter, high statistic differential cross sections are reported for the semiexclusive reaction ν_{μ}A→μ^{-}π^{+}+ nucleon(s) on scintillator, carbon, water, iron, and lead targets recorded by MINERvA using a wideband ν_{μ} beam with ⟨E_{ν}⟩≈6 GeV. Suppression of the cross section at low Q^{2} and enhancement of low T_{π} are observed in both light and heavy nuclear targets compared with phenomenological models used in current neutrino interaction generators. The cross sections per nucleon for iron and lead compared with CH across the kinematic variables probed are 0.8 and 0.5 respectively, a scaling which is also not predicted by current generators.

The deep-water BAIKAL-GVD telescope follow-up analysis of the IceCube neutrino alerts

The main goal of the Baikal-GVD deep-sea neutrino telescope is to detect high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin by reconstruction of muon tracks or showers of particles generated in interactions of neutrino with water. Since September 2020, Baikal-GVD has been monitoring IceCube telescope alerts about detection of neutrinos with the energy over 100 TeV. When follow-up analysis is carried out in real time, the delay between an IceCube notification and Baikal-GVD analysis does not exceed three minutes. The fast follow-up is complemented by an offline search for coincidences in time intervals of ±1 and ±12 h with refinement of event’s reconstruction. In the absence of a coincidence or in a case of a single coincidence, the value of expected background is calculated and upper limits on the neutrino flux are set.

Prediction of supernova neutrino signals by detectors and its future challenges

Supernova neutrinos produced during a core collapse of a massive star, carries 99% of the energy produced during the violent phenomenon. These neutrinos are weakly interacting massive particles and can provide useful information for both particle physics (neutrino oscillations parameters) and astrophysics (explosion mechanism). This information can be used to explore physics beyond the standard model. Neutrinos escape from the supernova core hours before the light, so a neutrino signal providing information about supernova direction can enable early observation. The current generation of detectors, like, Super-Kamiokande (Super-K), Large Volume Detector (LVD), Borexino, Kamioka Liquid Scintillator Antineutrino Detector (KamLAND), and IceCube, as well as HALO, Daya Bay(reactor neutrino experiment) and NuMI Off-Axis νe Appearance experiment (NOvA), have the ability to detect only a few orders of magnitude of events and the next generation experiment like, Hyper-Kamiokande (Hyper-K), Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE), and Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) will have yet another order of magnitude in reach, as well as richer flavor sensitivity. This work will present a Monte Carlo based study using the SNOwGLoBES [1] package, which is used to estimate the event rate using folded fluxes, cross-sections, and detector smearing to determine mean expected neutrino interaction signals in multiple current and future detectors. A study is carried out for the calculation of core-collapse neutrino event rates in realistic detectors for different flux models, effects of different parameters on flux and its variation with time.

Constraints on dark matter–neutrino interaction from 21-cm cosmology and forecasts on SKA1-Low

ABSTRACT In this article, we have done a thorough investigation of the possible effects of interaction between dark matter (DM) and neutrinos on reionization history. We have constrained the interaction strength using 21-cm cosmology and found out possible deviations from standard, non-interacting Lambda cold dark matter scenario. Comparing the results with the existing constraints from present cosmological observations reveals that 21-cm observations are more competent to constrain the interaction strength by a few orders of magnitude. We have also searched for prospects of detecting any such interaction in the upcoming 21-cm mission SKA1-Low by doing a forecast analysis and error estimation.

Detecting neutrinos in IceCube with Cherenkov light in the South Pole ice

The IceCube Neutrino Observatory detects GeV-to-PeV+ neutrinos via the Cherenkov light produced by secondary charged particles from neutrino interactions with the South Pole ice. The detector consists of over 5000 spherical Digital Optical Modules (DOM), each deployed with a single downward-facing photomultiplier tube (PMT) and arrayed across 86 strings over a cubic-kilometer. IceCube has measured the astrophysical neutrino flux, searched for their origins, and constrained neutrino oscillation parameters and cross sections. This is made possible by an in-depth characterization of the glacial ice, which has been refined over time, and novel approaches in reconstruction that utilize fast approximations of Cherenkov yield expectations.After over a decade of nearly continuous IceCube operation, the next generation of neutrino telescopes at the South Pole are taking shape. The IceCube Upgrade will add seven additional strings in a dense infill configuration. Multi-PMT OMs will be attached to each string, along with improved calibration devices and new sensor prototypes. Its denser OM and string spacing will extend sensitivity to lower neutrino energies and further constrain neutrino oscillation parameters. The calibration goals of the Upgrade will help guide the design and construction of IceCube Gen2, which will increase the effective volume by nearly an order of magnitude.