arXiv subjects

C. Lunardini

Publications and source records attributed to C. Lunardini.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2021

SNEWS 2.0: A Next-Generation SuperNova Early Warning System for Multi-messenger Astronomy

The next core-collapse supernova in the Milky Way or its satellites will represent a once-in-a-generation opportunity to obtain detailed information about the explosion of a star and provide significant scientific insight for a variety of fields because of the extreme conditions found within. Supernovae in our galaxy are not only rare on a human timescale but also happen at unscheduled times, so it is crucial to be ready and use all available instruments to capture all possible information from the event. The first indication of a potential stellar explosion will be the arrival of a bright burst of neutrinos. Its observation by multiple detectors worldwide can provide an early warning for the subsequent electromagnetic fireworks, as well as signal to other detectors with significant backgrounds so they can store their recent data. The Supernova Early Warning System (SNEWS) has been operating as a simple coincidence between neutrino experiments in automated mode since 2005. In the current era of multi-messenger astronomy there are new opportunities for SNEWS to optimize sensitivity to science from the next Galactic supernova beyond the simple early alert. This document is the product of a workshop in June 2019 towards design of SNEWS 2.0, an upgraded SNEWS with enhanced capabilities exploiting the unique advantages of prompt neutrino detection to maximize the science gained from such a valuable event.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2013

Neutrinos

This document represents the response of the Intensity Frontier Neutrino Working Group to the Snowmass charge. We summarize the current status of neutrino physics and identify many exciting future opportunities for studying the properties of neutrinos and for addressing important physics and astrophysics questions with neutrinos.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2011

Cosmological and Astrophysical Neutrino Mass Measurements

Cosmological and astrophysical measurements provide powerful constraints on neutrino masses complementary to those from accelerators and reactors. Here we provide a guide to these different probes, for each explaining its physical basis, underlying assumptions, current and future reach.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2008

Neutrino oscillation signatures of oxygen-neon-magnesium supernovae

We discuss the flavor conversion of neutrinos from core collapse supernovae that have oxygen-neon-magnesium (ONeMg) cores. Using the numerically calculated evolution of the star up to 650 ms post bounce, we find that, for the normal mass hierarchy, the electron neutrino flux in a detector shows signatures of two typical features of an ONeMg-core supernova: a sharp step in the density profile at the base of the He shell and a faster shock wave propagation compared to iron core supernovae. Before the shock hits the density step (t ~ 150 ms), the survival probability of electron neutrinos is about 0.68, in contrast to values of 0.32 or less for an iron core supernova. The passage of the shock through the step and its subsequent propagation cause a decrease of the survival probability and a decrease of the amplitude of oscillations in the Earth, reflecting the transition to a more adiabatic propagation inside the star. These changes affect the lower energy neutrinos first; they are faster and more sizable for larger theta_13. They are unique of ONeMg-core supernovae, and give the possibility to test the speed of the shock wave. The time modulation of the Earth effect and its negative sign at the neutronization peak are the most robust signatures in a detector.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2004

Neutrinos from SN1987A: flavor conversion and interpretation of results

After recent results from solar neutrino experiments and KamLAND we know that neutrinos from SN1987A underwent flavor conversion. This must be taken into account in the analysis of the data. Assuming the normal mass hierarchy of neutrinos we calculate the permutation factors p for the Kamiokande-2, IMB and Baksan detectors. The conversion inside the star leads to p = 0.28 - 0.32; regeneration effects inside the Earth reduce this factor down to 0.15 - 0.20 (at E = 40 MeV). We study in details the influence of conversion on the observed signal depending on the parameters of the original neutrino spectra. For a given set of these parameters, the conversion could increase the average energy of the observed events by up to 50 % and the number of events by a factor of 2 at Kamiokande-2 and of 3 - 5 at IMB. Inversely, we find that neglecting the conversion effects can lead up to 50 % error in the determination of the average energy of the original antinu_e flux and about 50 % error on its luminosity. By comparison with experimental data we conclude that the Kamiokande-2 data alone do not favor strong conversion effect. In contrast, the combined analysis of the Kamiokande and IMB results slightly favors strong conversion effects (that is, large difference of the original spectra). In comparison with the no oscillation case, the latter require lower average energy and higher luminosity of the original antinu_e flux.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2003

Probing the neutrino mass hierarchy and the 13-mixing with supernovae

We consider in details the effects of the 13-mixing (sin^2 theta_{13}) and of the type of mass hierarchy/ordering (sign[ Delta m^2_{13}]) on neutrino signals from the gravitational collapses of stars. The observables (characteristics of the energy spectra of nu_e and antinu_e events) sensitive to sin^2 theta_{13} and sign[Delta m^2_{13}] have been calculated. They include the ratio of average energies of the spectra, r_E = /<\bar E >, the ratio of widths of the energy distributions, r_Gamma, the ratios of total numbers of nu_e and antinu_e events at low energies, S, and in the high energy tails, R_{tail}. We construct and analyze scatter plots which show the predictions for the observables for different intervals of sin^2 theta_{13} and signs of Delta m^2_{13}, taking into account uncertainties in the original neutrino spectra, the star density profile, etc.. Regions in the space of observables r_E, r_Gamma, S, R_{tail} exist in which certain mass hierarchy and intervals of sin^2 theta_{13} can be identified or discriminated. We elaborate on the method of the high energy tails in the spectra of events. The conditions are formulated for which sin^2 theta_{13} can be (i) measured, (ii) restricted from below, (iii) restricted from above. We comment on the possibility to determine sin^2 theta_{13} using the time dependence of the signals due to the propagation of the shock wave through the resonance layers of the star. We show that the appearance of the delayed Earth matter effect in one of the channels (nu_e or antinu_e) in combination with the undelayed effect in the other channel will allow to identify the shock wave appeareance and determine the mass hierarchy.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2002

Supernova neutrinos: difference of nu_mu - nu_tau fluxes and conversion effects

The formalism of flavor conversion of supernova neutrinos is generalized to include possible differences in the fluxes of the muon and tau neutrinos produced in the star. In this case the radiatively induced difference of the nu_mu and nu_tau potentials in matter becomes important. The nu_mu and nu_tau flux differences can manifest themselves in the effects of the Earth matter on the observed nu_e (antinu_e) signal if: (i) the neutrino mass hierarchy is normal (inverted); (ii) the solution of the solar neutrino problem is in the LMA region; (iii) the mixing U_{e3} is relatively large: |U_{e3}|>10^{-3}. We find that for differences in the nu_mu - nu_tau (antinu_mu - antinu_tau) average energies and/or integrated luminosities < 20 %, the relative deviation of the observed nu_e (antinu_e) energy spectrum at E > 50 MeV from that in the case of the equal fluxes can reach 20 - 30 % (10 - 15 %) for neutrinos crossing the Earth. It could be detected in future if large detectors sensitive to the nu_e (antinu_e) energy spectrum become available. The study of this effect would allow one to test the predictions of the nu_mu, nu_tau, antinu_mu, antinu_tau fluxes from supernova models and therefore give an important insight into the properties of matter at extreme conditions. It should be taken into account in the reconstruction of the neutrino mass spectrum and mixing matrix from the supernova neutrino observations. We show that even for unequal nu_mu and nu_tau fluxes, effects of leptonic CP violation can not be studied in the supernova neutrino experiments.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2001

Supernova neutrinos: Earth matter effects and neutrino mass spectrum

We perform a detailed study of the Earth matter effects on supernova neutrinos. The dependences of these effects on the properties of the original neutrino fluxes, on the trajectory of the neutrinos inside the Earth and on the oscillation parameters are described. We show that, for a large fraction (60 %) of the possible arrival times of the signal, the neutrino flux crosses a substantial amount of the matter of the Earth at least for one of the existing detectors. For oscillation parameters from the LMA solution of the solar neutrino problem the Earth matter effect consists in an oscillatory modulation of the $\barnue$ and/or $ν_e$ energy spectra. The relative deviation with respect to the undistorted spectra can be as large as 20-30 % for E> 20 MeV and 70-100 % for E> 40 MeV. For parameters from the SMA and LOW solutions the effect is localized at low energies (E<10 MeV) and is not larger than 10 %. The Earth matter effects can be revealed (i) by the observation of oscillatory distortions of the energy spectra in a single experiment and (ii) by the comparison between the spectra at different detectors. For a supernova at distance D=10 Kpc, comparing the results of SuperKamiokande (SK), SNO and LVD experiments one can establish the effect at (2-3) σlevel, whereas larger statistical significance ((4-5) σ) is obtained if two experiments of SK-size or larger are available. Studies of the Earth matter effect will select or confirm the solution of the solar neutrino problem, probe the mixing U_{e 3} and identify the hierarchy of the neutrino mass spectrum.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2001

High-energy neutrino conversion and the lepton asymmetry in the universe

We study matter effects on oscillations of high-energy neutrinos in the Universe. Substantial effect can be produced by scattering of the neutrinos from cosmological sources ($z\gta 1$) on the relic neutrino background, provided that the latter has large CP-asymmetry: $η\equiv (n_ν-n_{\barν})/n_γ\gta 1$, where $n_ν$, $n_{\barν}$ and $n_γ$ are the concentrations of neutrinos, antineutrinos and photons. We consider in details the dynamics of conversion in the expanding neutrino background. Applications are given to the diffuse fluxes of neutrinos from GRBs, AGN, and the decay of super-heavy relics. We find that the vacuum oscillation probability can be modified by $\sim (10-20)%$ and in extreme cases allowed by present bounds on $η$ the effect can reach $\sim 100%$. Signatures of matter effects would consist (i) for both active-active and active-sterile conversion, in a deviation of the numbers of events produced in a detector by neutrinos of different flavours, $N_α~(α=e,μ,τ)$, and of their ratios from the values given by vacuum oscillations; such deviations can reach $\sim 5-15%$, (ii) for active-sterile conversion, in a characteristic energy dependence of the ratios $N_{e}/N_μ,N_{e}/N_τ,N_μ/N_τ$. Searches for these matter effects will probe large CP and lepton asymmetries in the universe.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2001

Neutrinos from SN1987A, Earth matter effects and the LMA solution of the solar neutrino problem

We study properties of the oscillation effects in the matter of the Earth on antineutrino fluxes from supernovae. We show that these effects can provide explanation of the difference in the energy spectra of the events detected by Kamiokande-2 and IMB detectors from SN1987A as well as the absence of high-energy events with $E\gta 40$ MeV. This explanation requires the neutrino oscillation parameters $Δm^2$ and $\sin^2 2θ$ to be in the region of the LMA solution of the solar neutrino problem and the normal mass hierarchy if $|U_{e 3}|^2\gta 10^{-3}$. The hierarchy can be inverted if $|U_{e 3}|^2\ll 10^{-3}$. The solution of the solar neutrino problem based on $ν_e$-conversion to a pure sterile state is disfavoured by SN1987A data.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2000

Large-angle Bhabha scattering and luminosity at flavour factories

The luminosity determination of electron-positron colliders operating in the region of low-lying hadronic resonances (E_cm ~ 1-10 GeV), such as BEPC/BES, DAPHNE, KEKB, PEP-II and VEPP-2M, requires the precision calculation of the Bhabha process at large scattering angles. In order to achieve a theoretical accuracy at a few 0.1% level, the inclusion of radiative corrections is mandatory. The phenomenologically relevant effect of QED corrections is taken into account in the framework of the Parton Shower (PS) method, which is employed both for cross section calculation and event generation. To test the reliability of the approach, a benchmark calculation, including exact O(alpha) corrections and higher-order leading logarithmic contributions, is developed as well and compared in detail with the PS predictions. The effect of O(alpha) next-to-leading and higher-order leading corrections is investigated in the presence of realistic event selections for the Bhabha process at the Phi-factories. A new Monte Carlo generator for data analysis (BABAYAGA) is presented, with an estimated accuracy of 0.5%. Possible developments aiming at improving its precision and range of applicability are discussed.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2000

The minimum width condition for neutrino conversion in matter

We find that for small vacuum mixing angle $θ$ and low energies ($s\ll M^2_Z$) the width of matter, $d_{1/2}$, needed to have conversion probability $P\geq 1/2$ should be larger than $d_{min}= π/(2\sqrt{2} G_{F} \tan 2 θ)$: $d_{1/2}\geq d_{min}$. Here $G_F$ is the Fermi constant, $s$ is the total energy squared in the center of mass and $M_Z$ is the mass of the $Z$ boson. The absolute minimum $d_{1/2}=d_{min}$ is realized for oscillations in a uniform medium with resonance density. For all the other density distributions (monotonically varying density, castle wall profile, etc.) the required width $d_{1/2}$ is larger than $d_{min}$. The width $d_{min}$ depends on $s$, and for $Z$-resonance channels at $s\sim M^2_Z$ we get that $d_{min}(s)$ is 20 times smaller than the low energy value. We apply the minimum width condition, $d\geq d_{min}$, to high energy neutrinos in matter as well as in neutrino background. Using this condition, we conclude that the matter effect is negligible for neutrinos propagating in AGN and GRBs environments. Significant conversion can be expected for neutrinos crossing dark matter halos of clusters of galaxies and for neutrinos produced by cosmologically distant sources and propagating in the universe.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2000

Large-angle Bhabha scattering and luminosity at Daphne

The accurate knowledge of luminosity at e^+ e^- flavour factories requires the precision calculation of the Bhabha cross section at large scattering angles. In order to achieve a theoretical accuracy at the 0.1% level, the relevant effect of QED radiative corrections is taken into account in the framework of the Parton Shower method, which allows exclusive event generation. On this scheme, a Monte Carlo event generator (BABAYAGA) is developed for data analysis. To test the reliability of the approach, a benchmark calculation, including exact O(alpha) corrections and higher-order leading logarithmic contributions, is developed as well, implemented in a Monte Carlo integrator (LABSPV) and compared in detail with the BABAYAGA predictions. The effect of initial-state and final-state radiation, O(alpha) next-to-leading and higher-order leading corrections is investigated and discussed in the presence of realistic event selections. The theoretical precision of BABAYAGA is estimated to be at the 0.5% level.

hep-ph↗