arXiv subjects

M. Cristina Volpe

Publications and source records attributed to M. Cristina Volpe.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Constraints on neutrino-Majoron couplings using SN1987A data

Neutrino decay to a lighter neutrino and a massless or almost massless (pseudo)scalar Goldstone boson remains of wide interest, as in the search for ultralight dark matter or for neutrinoless double beta-decay, and for its implications in astrophysics and cosmology. Neutrino interactions with Majorons can affect the dynamics of supernovae and impact the emitted neutrino flux. Using a three-neutrino framework and detailed supernova simulations, we perform the first likelihood analysis of the 24 neutrino events from SN1987A, including nonradiative decay in matter to a massless (pseudo)scalar boson like a Majoron. Focusing on the induced spectral distortions, we present bounds on the neutrino-Majoron couplings, as a function of the lightest neutrino mass, that are either complementary or competitive with current ones.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2025

Neutrino non-radiative decay in matter: constraints and prospects

Neutrinos, being massive, can decay. A heavier neutrino could decay into a lighter one and a massless scalar or pseudoscalar boson, such as the Majoron. Two-body non-radiative decay could occur in dense matter, such as in the inner dense regions of a core-collapse supernova. We first derive novel bounds on neutrino-Majoron couplings using the spectral distortions induced by neutrino non-radiative two-body decay in matter, and two-dimensional likelihood analyses of the 24 $\barν_e$ events from SN1987A. We then explore the prospects of neutrino-Majoron couplings from a future galactic core-collapse supernova, leaving either a neutron star or a black-hole. To this aim, we use information from detailed one-dimensional supernova simulations. We consider the supernova neutrino signal associated with inverse-beta decay in the upcoming JUNO and Hyper-Kamiokande detectors, with neutrino-argon scattering in DUNE, or with coherent neutrino-nucleus scattering in the DARWIN experiment. In a full 3$ν$ framework, based on the spectral distortions induced by neutrino decay in matter, we perform two-dimensional likelihood analyses and provide prospects for the limits on neutrino-Majoron couplings. Our results show that the observation of a future supernova will significantly improve on the current bounds, in particular from SN1987A and neutrinoless double-beta decay. Finally, we explore the impact of neutrino decay in matter on the diffuse supernova neutrino background formed by past supernova explosions. We show for the first time that the effects on black-hole contributions are important and modify the DSNB number of events by several tens of percent in Hyper-Kamiokande.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2025

Neutrinos from dense environments

Neutrinos from dense environments are unique laboratories for astrophysics, particle physics and many-body physics. They tell us about the last stages of the gravitational core-collapse and the explosion of massive stars. These elusive particles are also tightly linked to heavy elements synthesis in gravitational core-collapse supernovae and binary neutron star mergers, or play a pivotal role at the MeV epoch during the Universe expansion. We highlight theoretical and observational aspects of this interesting domain, in particular for the future measurement of neutrinos from the next core-collapse supernova, and of the diffuse supernova background, whose discovery might lie in the forthcoming future.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2024

What shall we learn from a future supernova?

Core-collapse supernovae constitute a unique laboratory for particle physics and astrophysics. They are powerful neutrino sources of all flavors, emitting essentially all the gravitational binding energy through neutrinos, at the end of their life. I will highlight how crucial is the observation of the next core-collapse supernova and of the diffuse supernova neutrino background, whose discovery might be imminent.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2024

Diffuse Supernova Neutrino Background and Neutrino Non-Radiative Decay: a Bayesian Perspective

Neutrinos being massive could undergo non-radiative decay, a property for which the diffuse supernova neutrino background has a unique sensitivity. We extend previous analyses to explore our ability to disentangle predictions for the diffuse supernova neutrino background in presence or absence of neutrino non-radiative two-body decay. In a three-neutrino framework, we give predictions of the corresponding neutrino fluxes and the expected number of events in the Super-Kamiokande+Gadolinium, the Hyper-Kamiokande, the JUNO and the DUNE experiments. In our analysis, we employ supernova simulations from different groups and include current uncertainties from both the evolving core-collapse supernova rate and the fraction of failed supernovae. We perform the first Bayesian analysis to see our ability to disentangle the cases in presence and absence of neutrino decay. To this aim we combine the expected events in inverse beta-decay and the neutrino-argon detection channels. We also discuss neutrino-electron, neutrino-proton and of neutrino-oxygen scattering. Our investigation covers the different possible decay patterns for normal mass ordering, both strongly-hierarchical and quasi-degenerate as well as the inverted neutrino mass ordering.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2024

Neutrinos from dense environments : Flavor mechanisms, theoretical approaches, observations, and new directions

Neutrino masses and mixings produce vacuum oscillations, an established quantum mechanical phenomenon. In matter, the Mikheev-Smirnov-Wolfenstein effect, due to neutrino interactions with the background particles, triggers resonant flavor modification. In dense environments, such as core-collapse supernovae or compact mergers, sizable neutrino-neutrino interactions, shock waves and turbulence impact the neutrino flavor content under a variety of phenomena. Theoretical approaches of neutrino propagation range from the mean-field approximation to the full quantum kinetic equations. Intriguing connections have been uncovered between weakly interacting dense neutrino gases and other many-body systems and domains, from condensed matter and nuclear physics to quantum computing. Besides the intrinsic theoretical interest, establishing how neutrinos change flavor contributes to answer the longstanding open questions of how massive stars explode and of the r-process sites. It is also important for future observations of core-collapse supernova neutrinos and of the diffuse supernova neutrino background that should be discovered in the foreseeable future.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2023

Neutrino nonradiative decay and the diffuse supernova neutrino background

The diffuse supernova neutrino background (DSNB) is the constant flux of neutrinos and antineutrinos emitted by all past core collapses in the observable Universe. We study the potential to extract information on the neutrino lifetime from the upcoming observation of the DSNB flux. The DSNB flux has a unique sensitivity to neutrino nonradiative decay for $τ/ m \in \left[ 10^9, 10^{11}\right]$~s/eV. To this end, we integrate, for the first time, astrophysical uncertainties, the contribution from failed supernovae, and a three-neutrino description of neutrino nonradiative decay. We present our predictions for future detection at the running Super-Kamiokande + Gd and the upcoming Hyper-Kamiokande, JUNO, and DUNE experiments. Finally, our results show the importance of identifying the neutrino mass ordering to restrict the possible decay scenarios for the impact of nonradiative neutrino decay on the DSNB.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2023

SN1987A and neutrino non-radiative decay

We investigate neutrino non-radiative two-body decay in vacuum, in relation to SN1987A. In a full $3ν$ decay framework, we perform a detailed likelihood analysis of the 24 neutrino events from SN1987A observed by Kamiokande-II, IMB, and Baksan. We consider both normal and inverted neutrino mass orderings, and the possibility of strongly hierarchical and quasi-degenerate neutrino mass patterns. The results of the likelihood analysis show that the sensitivity is too low to derive bounds in the case of normal mass ordering. On the contrary, in the case of inverted mass ordering we obtain the bound $τ/m \ge 2.4 \times 10^{5}$ s/eV ($1.2 \times 10^{5}$) s/eV at 68 $\%$ (90 $\%$) CL on the lifetime-to-mass ratio of the mass eigenstates $ν_2$ and $ν_1$.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2023

Neutrino non-radiative decay and the diffuse supernova neutrino background

We revisit the possibility that neutrinos undergo non-radiative decay. We investigate the potential to extract information on the neutrino lifetime-to-mass ratio from the diffuse supernova neutrino background. To this aim, we explicitly consider the current uncertainties on the core-collapse supernova rate and the fraction of failed supernovae. We present predictions in a full 3 neutrino framework in the absence and presence of neutrino non-radiative decay, for the Super-Kamiokande+Gd, the JUNO, the Hyper-Kamiokande, and the DUNE experiments, that should observe the diffuse supernova neutrino background in the near future. Our results show the importance of a 3 neutrino treatment of neutrino decay and of identifying the neutrino mass ordering to break possible degeneracies between DSNB predictions in the presence of decay and standard physics.

hep-ph↗