arXiv subjects

Douglas W. McKay

Publications and source records attributed to Douglas W. McKay.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2021

CP-Violating and Charged Current Neutrino Non-standard Interactions in CE$ν$NS

Neutrino non-standard interactions (NSI) can be constrained using coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering. We discuss here two aspects in this respect, namely the effects of (i) charged current NSI in neutrino production and (ii) CP-violating phases associated with neutral current NSI in neutrino detection. Effects of CP-phases require the simultaneous presence of two different flavor-changing neutral current NSI parameters. Applying these two scenarios to the COHERENT measurement, we derive limits on charged current NSI and find that more data is required to compete with the existing limits. Regarding CP-phases, we show how the limits on the NSI parameters depend dramatically on the values of the phases. Accidentally, the same parameters influencing coherent scattering also show up in neutrino oscillation experiments. We find that COHERENT provides complementary constraints on the set of NSI parameters that can explain the discrepancy in the best-fit value of the standard CP-phase obtained by T2K and NO$ν$A, while the significance with which the LMA-Dark solution is ruled out can be weakened by the presence of additional NSI parameters introduced here.

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arXiv2017

Probing New Physics in Low Energy Solar Neutrino Oscillation Data

We explore the effects of nonstandard neutrino interactions in the lower components of the solar neutrino spectrum which are predominant by the vacuum oscillations. The recent measurements of Borexino experiment between 2011 and 2015 provide a clean test to study the nonstandard neutrino interactions at the source (sun) and the at solar detector. In this work, first the possible standard model parameters are estimated from the combined data of the low energy regime and then the nonstandard effects at the source, at the detector, and from the interplay between source and detector parameters are bounded. The same effects are also investigated for the proposed experiments like LENA and Jinpin Neutrino Experiment with their projected sensitivities.

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arXiv2017

$\sin^2(θ)w$ estimate and bounds on nonstandard interactions at source and detector in the solar neutrino low-energy regime

We explore the implications of the Borexino experiment's real time measurements of the lowest energy part of the neutrino spectrum from the primary pp fusion process up to 0.420 MeV through the 7^Be decay at 0.862 MeV to the pep reaction at 1.44 MeV. We exploit the fact that at such low energies, the large mixing angle solution to the Mikheyev-Smirnov-Wolfenstein matter effects in the sun are small for 7^Be and pep and negligible for pp. Consequently, the neutrinos produced in the sun change their flavor almost entirely through vacuum oscillations during propagation from the sun's surface and through possible nonstandard interactions acting at the solar source and Borexino detector. We combine the different NSI effects at source and detector in a single framework and use the current Borexino data to bound NSI non-universal and flavor- changing parameters at energies below the reach of reactor neutrino experiments. We also study the implication of the current data for the weak- mixing angle at this "low-energy frontier" data from the Borexino experiment, where it is expected to be slightly larger than its value at the Z mass. We find $\sin^2(θ)w=0.224+-0.016$, the lowest energy-scale estimate to date. Looking to the future, we use projected sensitivities to solar neutrinos in next generation dedicated solar experiments and direct dark matter detection experiments and find a potential factor five improvement in determination of the weak-mixing angle and up to an order of magnitude improvement in probing the NSI parameters space.

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arXiv2016

Light Sterile Neutrinos, Lepton Number Violating Interactions and the LSND Anomaly

We develop the consequences of introducing a purely leptonic, lepton number violating non-standard interaction (NSI) and standard model neutrino mixing with a fourth, sterile neutrino in the analysis of short-baseline, neutrino experiments. We focus on the muon decay at rest (DAR) result from the Liquid Scintillation Neutrino Experiment (LSND) and the Karlsruhe and Rutherford Medium Energy Neutrino Experiment (KARMEN). We make a comprehensive analysis of lepton number violating, NSI effective operators and find nine that affect muon decay relevant to LSND results. Two of these preserve the standard model (SM) value 3/4 for the Michel rho and delta parameters and, overall, show favorable agreement with precision data and the electron anti-neutrino signal from LSND data. We display theoretical models that lead to these two effective operators. In the model we choose to apply to DAR data, both electron anti-neutrino appearance from muon anti-neutrino oscillation and electron anti-neutrino survival after production from NSI decay of the positive muon contribute to the expected signal. This is a unique feature of our scheme. We find a range of parameters where both experiments can be accommodated consistently with recent global, sterile neutrino fits to short baseline data. We comment on implications of the models for new physics searches at colliders and comment on further implications of the lepton number violating interactions plus sterile neutrino-standard model neutrino mixing.

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arXiv2014

Short Baseline Reactor Antineutrino-Electron Scattering Experiments and Non-Standard Neutrino Interactions at Source and Detector

We investigate non-standard interaction effects in antineutrino-electron scattering experiments with baselines short enough to ignore standard oscillation phenomena. The setup is free of ambiguities from the interference between new physics and oscillation effects and is sensitive to both semileptonic new physics at the source and purely leptonic new physics in the weak interaction scattering at the detector. We draw on the TEXONO experiment as the model system, extending its analysis of non-standard interaction effects at the detector to include the generally allowed non-standard interaction phase at the detector and both non-universal and flavor changing new physics at the reactor source. We confirm that the current data allows for new physics constraints at the detector of the same order as those currently published, but we find that constraints on the source new physics are at least an order of magnitude weaker. The new physics phase effects are at the 5% level, noticeable in the 90% C.L. contour plots but not significantly affecting the conclusions. Based on projected increase in sensitivity with an upgraded TEXONO experiment, we estimate the improvement of sensitivity to both source and detector non-standard interactions. We find that the bounds on source parameters improve by an order of magnitude, but do not reach parameter space beyond current limits. On the other hand, the detector new physics sensitivity would push current limits by factors 5 to 10 smaller.

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arXiv2014

Optimizing the Determination of the Neutrino Mixing Angle $θ_{13}$ from Reactor Data

The technical breakthroughs of multiple detectors developed by Daya Bay and RENO collaborations have gotten great attention. Yet the optimal determination of neutrino mixing parameters from reactor data depends on the statistical method and demands equal attention. We find that a straightforward method using a minimal parameters will generally outperform a multi-parameter method by delivering more reliable values with sharper resolution. We review standard confidence levels and statistical penalties for models using extra parameters, and apply those rules to our analysis. We find that the methods used in recent work of the Daya Bay and RENO collaborations have several undesirable properties. The existing work also uses non-standard measures of significance which we are unable to explain. A central element of the current methods consists of variationally fitting many more parameters than data points. As a result the experimental resolution of $\sin ^{2}(2θ_{13})$ is degraded. The results also become extremely sensitive to certain model parameters that can be adjusted arbitrarily. The number of parameters to include in evaluating significance is an important issue that has generally been overlooked. The measures of significance applied previously would be consistent if and only if all parameters but one were considered to have no physical relevance for the experiment's hypothesis test. Simpler, more transparent methods can improve the determination of the mixing angle $θ_{13}$ from reactor data, and exploit the advantages from superb hardware technique of the experiments. We anticipate that future experimental analysis will fully exploit those advantages.

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arXiv2013

Sensitivity of medium-baseline reactor neutrino mass-hierarchy experiments to nonstandard interactions

We explore the impact of nonstandard interactions at source and detector on the interpretation of reactor electron neutrino disappearance experiments with short- and medium-baseline designs. We use the constraints from the recent results from short-baseline experiments and generalize current estimates of medium-baseline event rates to include charged current interactions at source and detector with standard Lorentz structure but with nonstandard flavor structure. We find that the average spectrum of observed events at a baseline of 50 km, in the middle of the currently favored region, provides a probe of new interactions. We show that an improvement in sensitivity to nonstandard interactions is possible if combined with improved precision of input mixing parameters in independent experiments, despite ambiguity in interpretation of medium-baseline data. We show that nonstandard interactions can enhance or suppress the sensitivity of experiments to the mass hierarchy, depending on the phases of the parameters and the CP-violating phase in the standard three-neutrino mixing picture.

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arXiv2013

Implications of a Froissart bound saturation of $γ^*$-$p$ deep inelastic scattering. Part II. Ultra-high energy neutrino interactions

In Part I (in this journal) we argued that the structure function $F_2^{γp}(x,Q^2)$ in deep inelastic $ep$ scattering, regarded as a cross section for virtual $γ^*p$ scattering, has a saturated Froissart-bounded form behaving as $\ln^2 (1/x)$ at small $x$. This form provides an excellent fit to the low $x$ HERA data, including the very low $Q^2$ regions, and can be extrapolated reliably to small $x$ using the natural variable $\ln(1/x)$. We used our fit to derive quark distributions for values of $x$ down to $x=10^{-14}$. We use those distributions here to evaluate ultra-high energy (UHE) cross sections for neutrino scattering on an isoscalar nucleon, $N=(n+p)/2$, up to laboratory neutrino energies $E_ν\sim 10^{16}$-$10^{17}$ GeV where there are now limits on neutrino fluxes. We estimate that these cross sections are accurate to $\sim$2% at the highest energies considered, with the major uncertainty coming from the errors in the parameters that were needed to fit $F_2^{γp}(x,Q^2)$. We compare our results to recently published neutrino cross sections derived from NLO parton distribution functions, which become much larger at high energies because of the use of power-law extrapolations of quark distributions to small $x$. We argue that our calculation of the UHE $νN$ cross sections is the best one can make based the existing experimental deep inelastic scattering data. Further, we show that the strong interaction Froissart bound of $\ln^2 (1/x)$ on $F_2^{γp}$ translates to an exact bound of $\ln^3E_ν$ for leading-order-weak $νN$ scattering. The energy dependence of $νN$ total cross section measurements consequently has important implications for hadronic interactions at enormous cms (center-of-mass) energies not otherwise accessible.

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arXiv2013

Implications of a Froissart bound saturation of $γ^*$-$p$ deep inelastic scattering. Part I. Quark distributions at ultra small $x$

We argue that the deep inelastic structure function $F_2^{γp}(x, Q^2)$, regarded as a cross section for virtual $γ^*p$ scattering, is hadronic in nature. This implies that its growth is limited by the Froissart bound at high hadronic energies, giving a $\ln^2 (1/x)$ bound on $F_2^{γp}$ as Bjorken $x\rightarrow 0$. The same bound holds for the individual quark distributions. In earlier work, we obtained a very accurate global fit to the combined HERA data on $F_2^{γp}$ using a fit function which respects the Froissart bound at small $x$, and is equivalent in its $x$ dependence to the function used successfully to describe all high energy hadronic cross sections, including $γp$ scattering. We extrapolate that fit by a factor of $\lesssim$3 beyond the HERA region in the natural variable $\ln(1/x)$ to the values of $x$ down to $x=10^{-14}$ and use the results to derive the quark distributions needed for the reliable calculation of neutrino cross sections at energies up to $E_ν=10^{17}$ GeV. These distributions do not satisfy the Feynman "wee parton" assumption, that they all converge toward a common distribution $xq(x,Q^2)$ at small $x$ and large $Q^2$. This was used in some past calculations to express the dominant neutrino structure function $F_2^{ν(\barν)}$ directly in terms of $F_2^{γp}$. We show that the correct distributions nevertheless give results for $F_2^{ν(\barν)}$ which differ only slightly from those obtained assuming that the wee parton limit holds. In two Appendices, we develop simple analytic results for the effects of QCD evolution and operator-product corrections on the distribution functions at small $x$, and show that these effects amount mainly to shifting the values of $\ln(1/x)$ in the initial distributions.

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arXiv2011

Applications of the leading-order Dokshitzer-Gribov-Lipatov-Altarelli-Parisi evolution equations to the combined HERA data on deep inelastic scattering

We recently derived explicit solutions of the leading-order Dokshitzer-Gribov-Lipatov-Altarelli-Parisi (DGLAP) equations for the $Q^2$ evolution of the singlet structure function $F_s(x,Q^2)$ and the gluon distribution $G(x,Q^2)$ using very efficient Laplace transform techniques. We apply our results here to a study of the HERA data on deep inelastic $ep$ scattering as recently combined by the H1 and ZEUS groups. We use initial distributions $F_2^{γp}(x,Q_0^2)$ and $G(x,Q_0^2)$ fixed by a global fit to the HERA data. From $F_2^{γp}(x,Q_0^2)$ we obtain the singlet quark distribution $F_s(x,Q_0^2)$---using small non-singlet quark distributions taken from either the CTEQ6L or the MSTW2008LO analyses---evolve to arbitrary $Q^2$, and then convert the results to individual quark distributions. Finally, we show directly from a study of systematic trends in a comparison of the evolved $F_2^{γp}(x,Q^2)$ with the HERA data, that the assumption of leading-order DGLAP evolution is inconsistent with those data.

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arXiv2011

Comment on "Ultrahigh-Energy Neutrino-Nucleon Deep-Inelastic Scattering and the Froissart Bound": Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 231802 (2011)

The authors of a recent paper, "Ultrahigh-Energy Neutrino-Nucleon Deep-Inelastic Scattering and the Froissart Bound", A. Illarianov, B. Kniehl and A. Kotikov, Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 231802 (2011), derive an approximate formula for the UHE limit of $σ_{νN}(s)$ in a class of models that includes our own and assert that they are led "to the important observation that $σ_{BBT}^{νN} \propto ln^3s$, which manifestly violates the Froissart bound [2] in contrast to what is stated in Refs. [6-8]", the latter reference being to our work and the $σ_{BBT}^{νN}$ to the cross sections we reported there. We here correct their erroneous implication that $σ_{νN}(s) should satisfy the Froissart bound and their mistaken assertion that we state that $σ_{BBT}^{νN}$ satisfies it.

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arXiv2011

An analytic solution to LO coupled DGLAP evolution equations: a new pQCD tool

We have analytically solved the LO pQCD singlet DGLAP equations using Laplace transform techniques. Newly-developed highly accurate numerical inverse Laplace transform algorithms allow us to write fully decoupled solutions for the singlet structure function F_s(x,Q^2)and G(x,Q^2) as F_s(x,Q^2)={\cal F}_s(F_{s0}(x), G_0(x)) and G(x,Q^2)={\cal G}(F_{s0}(x), G_0(x)). Here {\cal F}_s and \cal G are known functions of the initial boundary conditions F_{s0}(x) = F_s(x,Q_0^2) and G_{0}(x) = G(x,Q_0^2), i.e., the chosen starting functions at the virtuality Q_0^2. For both G and F_s, we are able to either devolve or evolve each separately and rapidly, with very high numerical accuracy, a computational fractional precision of O(10^{-9}). Armed with this powerful new tool in the pQCD arsenal, we compare our numerical results from the above equations with the published MSTW2008 and CTEQ6L LO gluon and singlet F_s distributions, starting from their initial values at Q_0^2=1 GeV^2 and 1.69 GeV^2, respectively, using their choices of α_s(Q^2). This allows an important independent check on the accuracies of their evolution codes and therefore the computational accuracies of their published parton distributions. Our method completely decouples the two LO distributions, at the same time guaranteeing that both G and F_s satisfy the singlet coupled DGLAP equations. It also allows one to easily obtain the effects of the starting functions on the evolved gluon and singlet structure functions, as functions of both Q^2 and Q_0^2, being equally accurate in devolution as in evolution. Further, it can also be used for non-singlet distributions, thus giving LO analytic solutions for individual quark and gluon distributions at a given x and Q^2, rather than the numerical solutions of the coupled integral-differential equations on a large, but fixed, two-dimensional grid that are currently available.

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arXiv2010

Ultrahigh energy neutrino scattering: an update

We update our estimates of charged and neutral current neutrino total cross sections on isoscalar nucleons at ultrahigh energies using a global (x, Q^2) fit, motivated by the Froissart bound, to the F_2 (electron-proton) structure function utilizing the most recent analysis of the complete ZEUS and H1 data sets from HERA I. Using the large Q^2, small Bjorken-x limits of the "wee" parton model, we connect the ultrahigh energy neutrino cross sections directly to the large Q^2, small-x extrapolation of our new fit, which we assume saturates the Froissart bound. We compare both to our previous work, which utilized only the smaller ZEUS data set, as well as to recent results of a calculation using the ZEUS-S based global perturbative QCD parton distributions using the combined HERA I results as input. Our new results substantiate our previous conclusions, again predicting significantly smaller cross sections than those predicted by extrapolating pQCD calculations to neutrino energies above 10^9 GeV.

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arXiv2010

New physics, the cosmic ray spectrum knee, and $pp$ cross section measurements

We explore the possibility that a new physics interaction can provide an explanation for the knee just above $10^6$ GeV in the cosmic ray spectrum. We model the new physics modifications to the total proton-proton cross section with an incoherent term that allows for missing energy above the scale of new physics. We add the constraint that the new physics must also be consistent with published $pp$ cross section measurements, using cosmic ray observations, an order of magnitude and more above the knee. We find that the rise in cross section required at energies above the knee is radical. The increase in cross section suggests that it may be more appropriate to treat the scattering process in the black disc limit at such high energies. In this case there may be no clean separation between the standard model and new physics contributions to the total cross section. We model the missing energy in this limit and find a good fit to the Tibet III cosmic ray flux data. We comment on testing the new physics proposal for the cosmic ray knee at the Large Hadron Collider.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2010

Decoupling the NLO coupled DGLAP evolution equations: an analytic solution to pQCD

Using repeated Laplace transform techniques, along with newly-developed accurate numerical inverse Laplace transform algorithms, we transform the coupled, integral-differential NLO singlet DGLAP equations first into coupled differential equations, then into coupled algebraic equations, which we can solve iteratively. After Laplace inverting the algebraic solution analytically, we numerically invert the solutions of the decoupled differential equations. Finally, we arrive at the decoupled NLO evolved solutions F_s(x,Q^2)=calF_s(F_{s0}(x),G_0(x)) and G(x,Q^2)=calG(F_{s0}(x),G_0(x)), where calF_s and calG are known functions - determined using the DGLAP splitting functions up to NLO in the strong coupling constant alpha_s(Q^2). The functions F_{s0}(x)=F_s(x,Q_0^2) and G_0(x)=G(x,Q_0^2) are the starting functions for the evolution at Q_0^2. This approach furnishes us with a new tool for readily obtaining, independently, the effects of the starting functions on either the evolved gluon or singlet structure functions, as a function of both Q^2 and Q_0^2. It is not necessary to evolve coupled integral-differential equations numerically on a two-dimensional grid, as is currently done. The same approach can be used for NLO non-singlet distributions where it is simpler, only requiring one Laplace transform. We make successful NLO numerical comparisons to two non-singlet distributions, using NLO quark distributions published by the MSTW collaboration, over a large range of x and Q^2. Our method is readily generalized to higher orders in the strong coupling constant alpha_s(Q^2).

hep-ph↗

arXiv2010

Decoupling the coupled DGLAP evolution equations: an analytic solution to pQCD

Using Laplace transform techniques, along with newly-developed accurate numerical inverse Laplace transform algorithms, we decouple the solutions for the singlet structure function $F_s(x,Q^2)$ and $G(x,Q^2)$ of the two leading-order coupled singlet DGLAP equations, allowing us to write fully decoupled solutions: F_s(x,Q^2)={\cal F}_s(F_{s0}(x), G_0(x)), G(x,Q^2)={\cal G}(F_{s0}(x), G_0(x)). Here ${\cal F}_s$ and $\cal G$ are known functions---found using the DGLAP splitting functions---of the functions $F_{s0}(x) \equiv F_s(x,Q_0^2)$ and $G_{0}(x) \equiv G(x,Q_0^2)$, the chosen starting functions at the virtuality $Q_0^2$. As a proof of method, we compare our numerical results from the above equations with the published MSTW LO gluon and singlet $F_s$ distributions, starting from their initial values at $Q_0^2=1 GeV^2$. Our method completely decouples the two LO distributions, at the same time guaranteeing that both distributions satisfy the singlet coupled DGLAP equations. It furnishes us with a new tool for readily obtaining the effects of the starting functions (independently) on the gluon and singlet structure functions, as functions of both $Q^2$ and $Q_0^2$. In addition, it can also be used for non-singlet distributions, thus allowing one to solve analytically for individual quark and gluon distributions values at a given $x$ and $Q^2$, with typical numerical accuracies of about 1 part in $10^5$, rather than having to evolve numerically coupled integral-differential equations on a two-dimensional grid in $x, Q^2$, as is currently done.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2009

Analytic treatment of leading-order parton evolution equations: theory and tests

We recently derived an explicit expression for the gluon distribution function G(x, Q^2) = xg(x, Q^2) in terms of the proton structure function F_2^{γp} (x, Q^2) in leading-order (LO) QCD by solving the the LO DGLAP equation for the Q^2 evolution of F_2^{γp} (x, Q^2) analytically, using a differential-equation method. We re-derive and extend the results here using a Laplace-transform technique, and show that the singlet quark structure function F_S(x,Q^2) can be determined directly in terms of G from the DGLAP gluon evolution equation. To illustrate the method and check the consistency of existing LO quark and gluon distributions, we used the published values of the LO quark distributions from the CTEQ5L and MRST2001LO analyses to form F_2^{γp} (x, Q^2), and then solved analytically for G(x,Q^2). We find that the analytic and fitted gluon distributions from MRST2001LO agree well with each other for all x and Q^2, while those from CTEQ5L differ significantly from each other for large x values, x>~0.03 - 0.05 at all Q^2. We conclude that the published CTEQ5L distributions are incompatible in this region. Using a non-singlet evolution equation, we obtain a sensitive test of quark distributions which holds in both LO and NLO perturbative QCD. We find in either case that the CTEQ5 quark distributions satisfy the tests numerically for small x, but fail the tests for x>~0.03 - 0.05 - their use could potentially lead to significant shifts in predictions of quantities sensitive to large x. We encountered no problems with the MRST2001LO distributions or later CTEQ distributions. We suggest caution in the use of the CTEQ5 distributions.

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arXiv2008

Signatures of Pseudoscalar Photon Mixing in CMB Radiation

We model the effect of photon and ultra-light pseudoscalar mixing on the propagation of electromagnetic radiation through the extragalactic medium. The medium is modelled as a large number of magnetic domains, uncorrelated with one another. We obtain an analytic expression for the different Stokes parameters in the limit of small mixing angle. The different Stokes parameters are found to increase linearly with the number of domains. We also verify this result by direct numerical simulations. We use this formalism to estimate the effect of pseudoscalar-photon mixing on the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) polarization. We impose limits on the model parameters by the CMB observations. We find that the currently allowed parameter range admits a CMB circular polarization up to order $10^{-7}$.

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