arXiv subjects

Alexander Friedland

Publications and source records attributed to Alexander Friedland.

54 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2005

A test of tau neutrino interactions with atmospheric neutrinos and K2K

The presence of a tau component in the flux of atmospheric neutrinos inside the Earth, due to flavor oscillations, makes these neutrinos a valuable probe of interactions of the tau neutrino with matter. We study -- analytically and numerically -- the effects of nonstandard interactions in the nu_e-nu_tau sector on atmospheric neutrino oscillations, and calculate the bounds on the exotic couplings that follow from combining the atmospheric neutrino and K2K data. We find very good agreement between numerical results and analytical predictions derived from the underlying oscillation physics. While improving on existing accelerator bounds, our bounds still allow couplings of the size comparable to the standard weak interaction. The inclusion of new interactions expands the allowed region of the vacuum oscillation parameters towards smaller mixing angles, 0.2 ~< sin^2 theta_{23} ~< 0.7, and slightly larger mass squared splitting, 1.5 * 10^{-3} eV^2 ~< |Δm^2_{23}| ~< 4.0 * 10^{-3} eV^2, compared to the standard case. The impact of the K2K data on all these results is significant; further important tests of the nu_e-nu_tau exotic couplings will come from neutrino beams experiments such as MINOS and long baseline projects.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2005

Do solar neutrinos constrain the electromagnetic properties of the neutrino?

It is of great interest whether the recent KamLAND bound on the flux of electron antineutrinos from the Sun constrains the electromagnetic properties of the neutrino. We examine the efficiency of the electron antineutrino production in the solar magnetic fields, assuming the neutrinos are Majorana particles with a relatively large transition moment. We consider fields both in the radiative and convective zones of the Sun, with physically plausible strengths, and take into account the recently established values of the oscillation parameters. Our analysis shows that the production rate in question is presently unobservable. In the radiative zone, it is suppressed by the large measured value of the flavor mixing angle which eliminates the resonant level crossing. A corresponding general resonance condition, valid for large as well as small values of the mixing angle, is derived. Likewise, in the convective zone, the strength of the small-scale magnetic field is likely insufficient. Thus, no useful bound on the neutrino transition moment can be derived from the published KamLAND bound. KamLAND may be, however, on the edge of probing an ``optimistic'' scenario, making further improvements of its sensitivity desirable.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2005

Atmospheric neutrinos as probes of neutrino-matter interactions

Neutrino oscillation experiments provide a unique tool for probing neutrino-matter interactions, especially those involving the tau neutrino. We describe the sensitivity of the present atmospheric neutrino data to these interactions in the framework of a three-flavor analysis. Compared to the two-flavor nu_mu-nu_tau analyses, we find qualitatively new features, in particular, that large non-standard interactions, comparable in strength to those in the Standard Model, can be consistent with the data. The existence of such interactions could imply a smaller value of the neutrino mixing angle and larger value of the mass-squared splitting than in the case of standard interactions only. This and other effects of non-standard interactions may be tested in the next several years by MINOS, KamLAND and solar neutrino experiments.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2004

Solar neutrinos as probes of neutrino-matter interactions

Data from solar neutrino and KamLAND experiments have led to a discovery of nonzero neutrino masses. Here we investigate what these data can tell us about neutrino interactions with matter, including the poorly constrained flavor-changing nu_e-nu_tau interactions. We give examples of the interaction parameters that are excluded by the solar/KamLAND data and are beyond the reach of other experiments. We also demonstrate that flavor-changing interactions, at the allowed level, may profoundly modify the conversion probability for neutrinos of energy <~ 6 MeV and the values of the mass parameter inferred from the data. The implications for future experiments are discussed.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2003

Neutrino flavor conversion in a neutrino background: single- versus multi-particle description

In the early Universe, or near a supernova core, neutrino flavor evolution may be affected by coherent neutrino-neutrino scattering. We develop a microscopic picture of this phenomenon. We show that coherent scattering does not lead to the formation of entangled states in the neutrino ensemble and therefore the evolution of the system can always be described by a set of one-particle equations. We also show that the previously accepted formalism overcounts the neutrino interaction energy; the correct one-particle evolution equations for both active-active and active-sterile oscillations contain additional terms. These additional terms modify the index of refraction of the neutrino medium, but have no effect on oscillation physics.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2003

Do many-particle neutrino interactions cause a novel coherent effect?

We investigate whether coherent flavor conversion of neutrinos in a neutrino background is substantially modified by many-body effects, with respect to the conventional one-particle effective description. We study the evolution of a system of interacting neutrino plane waves in a box. Using its equivalence to a system of spins, we determine the character of its behavior completely analytically. We find that, if the neutrinos are initially in flavor eigenstates, no coherent flavor conversion is realized, in agreement with the effective one-particle description. This result does not depend on the size of the neutrino wavepackets and therefore has a general character. The validity of the several important applications of the one-particle formalism is thus confirmed.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2003

Domain Walls as Dark Energy

The possibility that the energy density of the Universe is dominated by a network of low-tension domain walls provides an alternative to the commonly discussed cosmological constant and scalar-field quintessence models of dark energy. We quantify the lower bound on the number density of the domain walls that follows from the observed near-isotropy of the cosmic microwave background radiation. This bound can be satisfied by a strongly frustrated domain wall network. No fine-tuning of the parameters of the underlying field theory model is required. We briefly outline the observational consequences of this model.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2002

A new solution to the solar neutrino deficit

We reexamine the transition magnetic moment solution to the solar neutrino problem. We argue that the absence of large time variations in the Super-Kamiokande rate provides strong evidence against spin-flavor flip in the solar convective zone. Spin-flavor flip could, however, occur in the primordial magnetic field in the radiative zone. We compute the longest lived toroidal mode for this field and show that spin-flavor flip in the radiative zone can account for all available solar data.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2002

Bounds on the Magnetic Fields in the Radiative Zone of the Sun

We discuss bounds on the strength of the magnetic fields that could be buried in the radiative zone of the Sun. The field profiles and decay times are computed for all axisymmetric toroidal Ohmic decay eigenmodes with lifetimes exceeding the age of the Sun. The measurements of the solar oblateness yield a bound <~ 7 MG on the strength of the field. A comparable bound is expected to come from the analysis of the splitting of the solar oscillation frequencies. The theoretical analysis of the double diffusive instability also yields a similar bound. The oblateness measurements at their present level of sensitivity are therefore not expected to measure a toroidal field contribution.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2001

MSW effect for large mixing angles

The traditional physical description of neutrino flavor conversion in the Sun focuses on the notion of resonance. However, the resonance picture is valid only in the limit of small mixing angles theta. For large values of theta, the resonance picture leads to seemingly paradoxical results. This observation is important for understanding the physics of neutrino flavor conversion in the Sun, since the latest solar neutrino data seems to prefer large mixing angles. Here we review the basic arguments and in particular show that the resonance does not in general coincide with either the point of maximal violation of adiabaticity in the nonadiabatic case or the point of maximal flavor conversion in the adiabatic case. We also discuss a modified adiabaticity criterion.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2001

On the Evolution of the Neutrino State inside the Sun

We reexamine the conventional physical description of the neutrino evolution inside the Sun. We point out that the traditional resonance condition has physical meaning only in the limit of small values of the neutrino mixing angle, theta<<1. For large values of theta, the resonance condition specifies neither the point of the maximal violation of adiabaticity in the nonadiabatic case, nor the point where the flavor conversion occurs at the maximal rate in the adiabatic case. The corresponding correct conditions, valid for all values of theta including theta>pi/4, are presented. An adiabaticity condition valid for all values of theta is also described. The results of accurate numerical computations of the level jumping probability in the Sun are presented. These calculations cover a wide range of Delta m^2, from the vacuum oscillation region to the region where the standard exponential approximation is good. A convenient empirical parametrization of these results in terms of elementary functions is given. The matter effects in the so-called "quasi-vacuum oscillation regime" are discussed. Finally, it is shown how the known analytical results for the exponential, 1/x, and linear matter distributions can be simply obtained from the formula for the hyperbolic tangent profile. An explicit formula for the jumping probability for the distribution N_e ~ (coth(x/l) +- 1) is obtained.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2000

MSW Effects in Vacuum Oscillations

We point out that for solar neutrino oscillations with the mass-squared difference of Delta m^2 ~ 10^-10 - 10^-9 eV^2, traditionally known as ``vacuum oscillation'' range, the solar matter effects are non-negligible, particularly for the low energy pp neutrinos. One consequence of this is that the values of the mixing angle theta and pi/2-theta are not equivalent, leading to the need to consider the entire physical range of the mixing angle 0<=theta<=pi/2 when determining the allowed values of the neutrino oscillation parameters.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2000

The Dark Side of the Solar Neutrino Parameter Space

Results of neutrino oscillation experiments have always been presented on the (sin^2 2theta, Delta m^2) parameter space for the case of two-flavor oscillations. We point out, however, that this parameterization misses the half of the parameter space pi/4 < theta <= pi/2 (``the dark side''), which is physically inequivalent to the region 0 <= theta <= pi/4 (``the light side'') in the presence of matter effects. The MSW solutions to the solar neutrino problem can extend to the dark side, especially if we take the conservative attitude to allow higher confidence levels, ignore some of the experimental results in the fits, or relax theoretical predictions. Furthermore even the so-called ``vacuum oscillation'' solution distinguishes the dark and the light sides. We urge experimental collaborations to present their results on the entire parameter space.

hep-ph↗

arXiv1999

Earth Matter Effect in 7Be Solar Neutrino Experiments

We determine the sensitivity of the KamLAND and Borexino experiments to the neutrino regeneration effect in the Earth as a function of Delta m^2 and theta, using realistic numbers for the signal and background rates. We compare the results obtained with the chi^2 method with those obtained from the conventional day-night asymmetry analysis. We also investigate how well one should be able to measure the neutrino oscillation parameters if a large day-night asymmetry is observed, taking the LOW solution as an example. We present an enlarged parameter space, which contains mixing angles greater than pi/4 where the heavy mass eigenstate is predominantly nu_e, and determine the electron neutrino survival probability for this traditionally neglected scenario. We emphasize that this portion of the parameter space yields different physics results when dealing with the MSW solutions to the solar neutrino puzzle and should not be neglected.

hep-ph↗

arXiv1999

Seasonal Variations of the 7Be Solar Neutrino Flux

Measuring the 7Be solar neutrino flux is crucial towards solving the solar neutrino puzzle. The Borexino experiment, and possibly the KamLAND experiment, will be capable of studying the 7Be neutrinos in the near future. We discuss (1) how the seasonal variation of the Borexino and KamLAND data can be used to measure the 7Be solar neutrino flux in a background independent way and (2) how anomalous seasonal variations might be used to discover vacuum neutrino oscillations, independent of the solar model and the measurement of the background. In particular, we find that, after three years of Borexino or KamLAND running, vacuum neutrino oscillations can be either established or excluded for almost all values of (sin^2 2 theta, Delta m^2) preferred by the Homestake, GALLEX, SAGE, and Super-Kamiokande data. We also discuss how well seasonal variations of the data can be used to measure (sin^2 2 theta, Delta m^2) in the case of vacuum oscillations.

hep-ph↗

arXiv1998

Seiberg Duality and e+ e- Experiments

Seiberg duality in supersymmetric gauge theories is the claim that two different theories describe the same physics in the infrared limit. However, one cannot easily work out physical quantities in strongly coupled theories and hence it has been difficult to compare the physics of the electric and magnetic theories. In order to gain more insight into the equivalence of two theories, we study the ``e+ e-'' cross sections into ``hadrons'' for both theories in the superconformal window. We describe a technique which allows us to compute the cross sections exactly in the infrared limit. They are indeed equal in the low-energy limit and the equality is guaranteed because of the anomaly matching condition. The ultraviolet behavior of the total ``e+ e-'' cross section is different for the two theories. We comment on proposed non-supersymmetric dualities. We also analyze the agreement of the ``γγ'' and ``WW'' scattering amplitudes in both theories, and in particular try to understand if their equivalence can be explained by the anomaly matching condition.

hep-th↗

arXiv1998

Less Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model

Most of the phenomenological studies of supersymmetry have been carried out using the so-called minimal supergravity scenario, where one assumes a universal scalar mass, gaugino mass, and trilinear coupling at M_{GUT}. Even though this is a useful simplifying assumption for phenomenological analyses, it is rather too restrictive to accommodate a large variety of phenomenological possibilities. It predicts, among other things, that the lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP) is an almost pure B-ino, and that the mu-parameter is larger than the masses of the SU(2)_{L} and U(1)_{Y} gauginos. We extend the minimal supergravity framework by introducing one extra parameter: the Fayet--Iliopoulos D-term for the hypercharge U(1), D_Y. Allowing for this extra parameter, we find a much more diverse phenomenology, where the LSP is \tildeν_τ, \tildeτ or a neutralino with a large higgsino content. We discuss the relevance of the different possibilities to collider signatures. The same type of extension can be done to models with the gauge mediation of supersymmetry breaking. We argue that it is not wise to impose cosmological constraints on the parameter space.

hep-ph↗

arXiv1997

Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model with the Gauge Mediation of Supersymmetry Breaking

We study the Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (NMSSM) as the simplest candidate solution to the $μ$-problem in the context of the gauge mediation of supersymmetry breaking (GMSB). We first review various proposals to solve the $μ$-problem in models with the GMSB. We find none of them entirely satisfactory and point out that many of the scenarios still lack quantitative studies, and motivate the NMSSM as the simplest possible solution. We then study the situation in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) with the GMSB and find that an order 10% cancellation is necessary between the $μ$-parameter and the soft SUSY-breaking parameters to correctly reproduce $M_Z$. Unfortunately, the NMSSM does not to give a phenomenologically viable solution to the $μ$-problem. We present quantitative arguments which apply both for the low-energy and high-energy GMSB and prove that the NMSSM does not work for either case. Possible modifications to the NMSSM are then discussed. The NMSSM with additional vector-like quarks works phenomenologically, but requires an order a few percent cancellation among parameters. We point out that this cancellation has the same origin as the cancellation required in the MSSM.

hep-ph↗