arXiv subjects

J. W. F. Valle

Publications and source records attributed to J. W. F. Valle.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2016

Updating neutrino magnetic moment constraints

In this paper we provide an updated analysis of the neutrino magnetic moments (NMMs), discussing both the constraints on the magnitudes of the three transition moments Lambda_i as well as the role of the CP violating phases present both in the mixing matrix and in the NMM matrix. The scattering of solar neutrinos off electrons in Borexino provides the most stringent restrictions, due to its robust statistics and the low energies observed, below 1 MeV. Our new limit on the effective neutrino magnetic moment which follows from the most recent Borexino data is 3.1 x 10^-11 mu_B at 90% C.L. This corresponds to the individual transition magnetic moment constraints: |Lambda_1| < 5.6 x10^-11 mu_B, |Lambda_2| < 4.0 x 10^-11 mu_B, and |Lambda_3| < 3.1 x 10^-11 mu_B (90% C.L.), irrespective of any complex phase. Indeed, the incoherent admixture of neutrino mass eigenstates present in the solar flux makes Borexino insensitive to the Majorana phases present in the NMM matrix. For this reason we also provide a global analysis including the case of reactor and accelerator neutrino sources, and presenting the resulting constraints for different values of the relevant CP phases. Improved reactor and accelerator neutrino experiments will be needed in order to underpin the full profile of the neutrino electromagnetic properties.

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arXiv2015

Generalized $μ-τ$ reflection symmetry and leptonic CP violation

We propose a generalized $μ-τ$ reflection symmetry to constrain the lepton flavor mixing parameters. We obtain a new correlation between the atmospheric mixing angle $θ_{23}$ and the "Dirac" CP violation phase $δ_{\rm CP}$. Only in a specific limit our proposed CP transformation reduces to standard $μ-τ$ reflection, for which $θ_{23}$ and $δ_{CP}$ are both maximal. The "Majorana" phases are predicted to lie at their CP-conserving values with important implications for the neutrinoless double beta decay rates. We also study the phenomenological implications of our scheme for present and future neutrino oscillation experiments including T2K, NO$ν$A and DUNE.

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arXiv2015

Sensitivities to neutrino electromagnetic properties at the TEXONO experiment

The possibility of measuring neutral-current coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CENNS) at the TEXONO experiment has opened high expectations towards probing exotic neutrino properties. Focusing on low threshold Germanium-based targets with kg-scale mass, we find a remarkable efficiency not only for detecting CENNS events due to the weak interaction, but also for probing novel electromagnetic neutrino interactions. Specifically, we demonstrate that such experiments are complementary in performing precision Standard Model tests as well as in shedding light on sub-leading effects due to neutrino magnetic moment and neutrino charge radius. This work employs realistic nuclear structure calculations based on the quasi-particle random phase approximation (QRPA) and takes into consideration the crucial quenching effect corrections. Such a treatment, in conjunction with a simple statistical analysis, shows that the attainable sensitivities are improved by one order of magnitude as compared to previous studies.

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arXiv2015

Warped flavor symmetry predictions for neutrino physics

A realistic five-dimensional warped scenario with all standard model fields propagating in the bulk is proposed. Mass hierarchies would in principle be accounted for by judicious choices of the bulk mass parameters, while fermion mixing angles are restricted by a $Δ(27)$ flavor symmetry broken on the branes by flavon fields. The latter gives stringent predictions for the neutrino mixing parameters, and the Dirac CP violation phase, all described in terms of only two independent parameters at leading order. The scheme also gives an adequate CKM fit and should be testable within upcoming oscillation experiments.

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arXiv2015

Probing neutrino magnetic moments at Spallation Neutron Source facilities

Majorana neutrino electromagnetic properties are studied through neutral current coherent neutrino-nucleus scattering. We focus on the potential of the recently planned COHERENT experiment at the Spallation Neutron Source to probe muon-neutrino magnetic moments. The resulting sensitivities are determined on the basis of a chi^2 analysis employing realistic nuclear structure calculations in the context of the quasi-particle random phase approximation. We find that they can improve existing limits by half an order of magnitude. In addition, we show that these facilities allow for Standard Model precision tests in the low energy regime, with a competitive determination of the weak mixing angle. Finally, they also offer the capability to probe other electromagnetic neutrino properties, such as the neutrino charge-radius. We illustrate our results for various choices of experimental setup and target material.

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arXiv2015

Constraining right-handed neutrinos

Several models of neutrino masses predict the existence of neutral heavy leptons. Here, we review current constraints on heavy neutrinos and apply a new formalism separating new physics from Standard Model. We discuss also the indirect effect of extra heavy neutrinos in oscillation experiments.

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arXiv2015

Status and implications of neutrino masses: a brief panorama

With the historic discovery of the Higgs boson our picture of particle physics would have been complete were it not for the neutrino sector and cosmology. I briefly discuss the role of neutrino masses and mixing upon gauge coupling unification, electroweak breaking and the flavor sector. Time is ripe for new discoveries such as leptonic CP violation, charged lepton flavor violation and neutrinoless double beta decay. Neutrinos could also play a role in elucidating the nature of dark matter and cosmic inflation.

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arXiv2014

Neutrino oscillations refitted

Here we update our previous global fit of neutrino oscillations by including the recent results which have appeared since the Neutrino-2012 conference. These include the measurements of reactor anti-neutrino disappearance reported by Daya Bay and RENO, together with latest T2K and MINOS data including both disappearance and appearance channels. We also include the revised results from the third solar phase of Super-Kamiokande, SK-III, as well as new solar results from the fourth phase of Super-Kamiokande, SK-IV. We find that the preferred global determination of the atmospheric angle $θ_{23}$ is consistent with maximal mixing. We also determine the impact of the new data upon all the other neutrino oscillation parameters with emphasis on the increasing sensitivity to the CP phase, thanks to the interplay between accelerator and reactor data. In the appendix we present the updated results obtained after the inclusion of new reactor data presented at the Neutrino 2014 conference. We discuss their impact on the global neutrino analysis.

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arXiv2014

The Cabibbo angle as a universal seed for quark and lepton mixings

A model-independent ansatz to describe lepton and quark mixing in a unified way is suggested based upon the Cabibbo angle. In our framework neutrinos mix in a "Bi-Large" fashion, while the charged leptons mix as the "down-type" quarks do. In addition to the standard Wolfenstein parameters (lambda, A) two other free parameters are needed to specify the physical lepton mixing matrix. Through this simple assumption one makes specific predictions for the atmospheric angle as well as leptonic CP violation in good agreement with current observations.

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arXiv2014

Leptogenesis with a dynamical seesaw scale

In the simplest type-I seesaw leptogenesis scenario right-handed neutrino annihilation processes are absent. However, in the presence of new interactions these processes are possible and can affect the resulting $B-L$ asymmetry in an important way. A prominent example is provided by models with spontaneous lepton number violation, where the existence of new dynamical degrees of freedom can play a crucial role. In this context, we provide a model-independent discussion of the effects of right-handed neutrino annihilations. We show that in the weak washout regime, as long as the scattering processes remain slow compared with the Hubble expansion rate throughout the relevant temperature range, the efficiency can be largely enhanced, reaching in some cases maximal values. Moreover, the $B-L$ asymmetry yield turns out to be independent upon initial conditions, in contrast to the "standard" case. On the other hand, when the annihilation processes are fast, the right-handed neutrino distribution tends to a thermal one down to low temperatures, implying a drastic suppression of the efficiency which in some cases can render the $B-L$ generation mechanism inoperative.

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arXiv2014

Dirac neutrinos from flavor symmetry

We present a model where Majorana neutrino mass terms are forbidden by the flavor symmetry group Delta(27). Neutrinos are Dirac fermions and their masses arise in the same way as that of the charged fermions, due to very small Yukawa couplings. The model fits current neutrino oscillation data and correlates the octant of the atmospheric angle with the magnitude of the lightest neutrino mass, with maximal mixing excluded for any neutrino mass

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arXiv2013

Planck-scale effects on WIMP dark matter

There exists a widely known conjecture that gravitational effects violate global symmetries. We study the effect of global-symmetry violating higher-dimension operators induced by Planck-scale physics on the properties of WIMP dark matter. Using an effective description, we show that the lifetime of the WIMP dark matter candidate can satisfy cosmological bounds under reasonable assumptions regarding the strength of the dimension-five operators. On the other hand, the indirect WIMP dark matter detection signal is significantly enhanced due to new decay channels.

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arXiv2013

Invisible decays of ultra-high energy neutrinos

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are expected to provide a source of ultra high energy cosmic rays, accompanied with potentially detectable neutrinos at neutrino telescopes. Recently, IceCube has set an upper bound on this neutrino flux well below theoretical expectation. We investigate whether this mismatch between expectation and observation can be due to neutrino decay. We demosntrate the phenomenological consistency and theoretical plausibility of the neutrino decay hypothesis. A potential implication is the observability of majoron-emitting neutrinoless double beta decay.

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arXiv2013

WIMP dark matter as radiative neutrino mass messenger

The minimal seesaw extension of the Standard SU(3) x SU(2) x U(1) Model requires two electroweak singlet fermions in order to accommodate the neutrino oscillation parameters at tree level. Here we consider a next to minimal extension where light neutrino masses are generated radiatively by two electroweak fermions: one singlet and one triplet under SU(2). These should be odd under a parity symmetry and their mixing gives rise to a stable weakly interactive massive particle (WIMP) dark matter candidate. For mass in the GeV-TeV range, it reproduces the correct relic density, and provides an observable signal in nuclear recoil direct detection experiments. The fermion triplet component of the dark matter has gauge interactions, making it also detectable at present and near future collider experiments.

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arXiv2013

Quark-Lepton Mass Relation in a Realistic A4 Extension of the Standard Model

We propose a realistic A4 extension of the Standard Model involving a particular quark-lepton mass relation, namely that the ratio of the third family mass to the geometric mean of the first and second family masses are equal for down-type quarks and charged leptons. This relation, which is approximately renormalization group invariant, is usually regarded as arising from the Georgi-Jarlskog relations, but in the present model there is no unification group or supersymmetry. In the neutrino sector we propose a simple modification of the so called Zee-Wolfenstein mass matrix pattern which allows an acceptable reactor angle along with a deviation of the atmospheric and solar angles from their bi-maximal values. Quark masses, mixing angles and CP violation are well described by a numerical fit.

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arXiv2013

Quark-Lepton Mass Relation and CKM mixing in an A4 Extension of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model

An interesting mass relation between down type quarks and charged leptons has been recently predicted within a supersymmetric SU(3)_c \times SU(2)_L \times U(1)_Y model based on the A4 flavor symmetry. Here we propose a simple extension which provides an adequate full description of the quark sector. By adding a pair of vector-like up-quarks we show how the CKM entries Vub, Vcb, Vtd and Vts arise from deviations of the unitarity. We perform an analysis including the most relevant observables in the quark sector, such as oscillations and rare decays of Kaons, Bd and Bs mesons. In the lepton sector, model predicts an inverted hierarchy for the neutrino masses leading to a potentially observable rate of neutrinoless double beta decay.

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arXiv2013

Neutrino mixing with revamped A4 flavour symmetry

We suggest a minimal extension of the simplest A4 flavour model that can induce a nonzero theta13 value, as required by recent neutrino oscillation data from reactors and accelerators. The predicted correlation between the atmospheric mixing angle theta23 and the magnitude of theta13 leads to an allowed region substantially smaller than indicated by neutrino oscillation global fits. Moreover, the scheme correlates CP violation in neutrino oscillations with the octant of the atmospheric mixing parameter theta23 in such a way that, for example, maximal mixing necessarily violates CP. We briefly comment on other phenomenological features of the model.

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arXiv2013

Accidental stability of dark matter

We propose that dark matter is stable as a consequence of an accidental Z2 that results from a flavour-symmetry group which is the double-cover group of the symmetry group of one of the regular geometric solids. Although model-dependent, the phenomenology resembles that of a generic Higgs portal dark matter scheme.

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