arXiv subjects

F. F. Rodrigues

Publications and source records attributed to F. F. Rodrigues.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2023

Alleviating the present tension between T2K and NO$\nu$A with nonstandard neutrino interactions

Since neutrino oscillation was observed, several experiments have been built to measure its parameters. NO$\nu$A and T2K are two long-baseline experiments dedicated to measuring mainly the mixing angle $\theta_{23}$, the charge-parity conjugation phase $\delta_{\rm CP}$, and the mass ordering. However, there is a tension in current data. The T2K allowed region is in conflict with the region allowed by NO$\nu$A. We propose a nonstandard charged current interaction (CC-NSI) in neutrino production to relieve this tension. The CC-NSI is computed through quantum field theory (QFT) formalism, where we derive perturbative analytical formulae considering CC-NSI in the pion decay. Within this new approach, we can alleviate NO$\nu$A and T2K tension for a CC-NSI complex parameters of order $10^{-3}$. We show the new phase has a degeneracy to the Dirac CP phase of the form $\delta_{\rm CP} \pm \phi= 1.5\pi$ being a possible source of violation of charge-parity symmetry.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2020

Vacuum induced dispersions on the motion of test particles in $D+1$ dimensions

When the vacuum state of a scalar or electromagnetic field is modified by the presence of a reflecting boundary, an interacting test particle undergoes velocity fluctuations. Such effect is regarded as a sort of quantum analog of the classical Brownian motion. Several aspects about this system have been recently investigated in the literature, for instance, finite temperature effects, curved spacetime framework, near-boundary regime, late time behavior, and subvacuum phenomena. Here, further steps are given in this analysis by considering the effect of vacuum fluctuations of a scalar field in the presence of a perfectly reflecting flat boundary over the motion of a scalar test particle when the background field does not satisfy the Huygens' principle. Specifically, the background field is allowed to have mass and the system is studied in $D+1$ dimensions. A method of implementing a smooth transition between distinct states of the field is also developed, rendering regularized analytic expressions describing the velocity fluctuations of the test particle. This method is applied to study some special behaviors of the system. Possible applications include fields known to occur in nature as, for instance, the massive Higgs' field, for which the velocity fluctuations are here predicted to acquire a characteristic oscillation, thus behaving differently from their electromagnetic counterparts.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2018

Vacuum fluctuations of a scalar field near a reflecting boundary and their effects on the motion of a test particle

The contribution from quantum vacuum fluctuations of a real massless scalar field to the motion of a test particle that interacts with the field in the presence of a perfectly reflecting flat boundary is here investigated. There is no quantum induced dispersions on the motion of the particle when it is alone in the empty space. However, when a reflecting wall is introduced, dispersions occur with magnitude dependent on how fast the system evolves between the two scenarios. A possible way of implementing this process would be by means of an idealized sudden switching, for which the transition occurs instantaneously. Although the sudden process is a simple and mathematically convenient idealization it brings some divergences to the results, particularly at a time corresponding to a round trip of a light signal between the particle and the wall. It is shown that the use of smooth switching functions, besides regularizing such divergences, enables us to better understand the behavior of the quantum dispersions induced on the motion of the particle. Furthermore, the action of modifying the vacuum state of the system leads to a change in the particle energy that depends on how fast the transition between these states is implemented. Possible implications of these results to the similar case of an electric charge near a perfectly conducting wall are discussed.

hep-th↗