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M. Kachelriess

Publications and source records attributed to M. Kachelriess.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
arXiv2003

Superheavy dark matter as UHECR source versus the SUGAR data

Decay or annihilation products of superheavy dark matter (SHDM) could be responsible for the end of the Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Ray (UHECR) spectrum. In this case, the south array of the Pierre Auger Observatory should observe in the future a significant anisotropy of UHECR arrival directions towards the galactic center. Here we use the already existing data of the SUGAR array to test this possibility. If decaying SHDM is distributed according a Navarro-Frenk-White (NFW) dark matter profile with core radius R_c=15 kpc and is responsible only for UHECRs above 6*10^{19} eV, i.e. the AGASA excess, then the arrival directions measured by the SUGAR array have a probability of ~10% to be consistent with this model. By contrast, the model of annihilating SHDM is disfavoured at least at 99% CL by the SUGAR data, if the smooth component of the DM dominates the signal.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2003

New hadrons as ultra-high energy cosmic rays

Ultra-high energy cosmic ray (UHECR) protons produced by uniformly distributed astrophysical sources contradict the energy spectrum measured by both the AGASA and HiRes experiments, assuming the small scale clustering of UHECR observed by AGASA is caused by point-like sources. In that case, the small number of sources leads to a sharp exponential cutoff at the energy E<10^{20} eV in the UHECR spectrum. New hadrons with mass 1.5-3 GeV can solve this cutoff problem. For the first time we discuss the production of such hadrons in proton collisions with infrared/optical photons in astrophysical sources. This production mechanism, in contrast to proton-proton collisions, requires the acceleration of protons only to energies E<10^{21} eV. The diffuse gamma-ray and neutrino fluxes in this model obey all existing experimental limits. We predict large UHE neutrino fluxes well above the sensitivity of the next generation of high-energy neutrino experiments. As an example we study hadrons containing a light bottom squark. These models can be tested by accelerator experiments, UHECR observatories and neutrino telescopes.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2002

SN1987A and the Status of Oscillation Solutions to the Solar Neutrino Problem (including an appendix discussing the NC and day/night data from SNO)

We study neutrino oscillations and the level-crossing probability PLZ in power-law potential profiles A(r)\propto r^n. We give local and global adiabaticity conditions valid for all mixing angles theta and discuss different representations for PLZ. For the 1/r^3 profile typical of supernova envelopes we compare our analytical to numerical results and to earlier approximations used in the literature. We then perform a combined likelihood analysis of the observed SN1987A neutrino signal and of the latest solar neutrino data, including the recent SNO CC measurement. We find that, unless all relevant supernova parameters (released binding energy, \barν_e and \barν_{μ,τ} temperatures) are near their lowest values found in simulations, the status of large mixing type solutions deteriorates considerably compared to fits using only solar data. This is sufficient to rule out the vacuum-type solutions for most reasonable choices of astrophysics parameters. The LOW solution may still be acceptable, but becomes worse than the SMA-MSW solution which may, in some cases, be the best combined solution. On the other hand the LMA-MSW solution can easily survive as the best overall solution, although its size is generally reduced when compared to fits to the solar data only.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2002

Electroweak jet cascading in the decay of superheavy particles

We study decays of superheavy particles $X$ into leptons. We show that they initiate cascades similar to QCD parton jets, if $m_X\gsim 10^6$ GeV. Electroweak cascading is studied and the energy spectra of the produced leptons are calculated in the framework of a broken SU(2) model of weak interactions. As application, important for the Z-burst model for ultrahigh energy cosmic rays, we consider decays of superheavy particles coupled on tree-level only to neutrinos and derive stringent limit for these decays from the observed diffuse extragalactic $γ$-ray flux.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2001

Non-adiabatic oscillations of supernova neutrinos

The level-crossing probability, local and global adiabaticity conditions are discussed for 2-flavour neutrino oscillations in matter with arbitrary mixing angle $θ$. Different approximations for the survival probability of supernova neutrinos are compared. Results of a combined likelihood analysis of the observed SN1987A neutrino signal and of the latest solar neutrino data including the recent SNO CC measurement are presented.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2001

Remarks on the high-energy behaviour of cross-sections in weak-scale string theories

We consider the high-energy behaviour of processes involving Kaluza-Klein (KK) gravitons of weak-scale string theories. We discuss how form-factors derived within string theory modify the couplings of KK gravitons and thereby lead to an exponential fall-off of cross sections in the high-energy limit. Further, we point out that the assumption of Regge behaviour for a scattering amplitude in the high energy limit, $T\propto s^{α(t)}$, combined with a linear growth of the total cross-section, $σ_{tot}(s)\propto s$, violates elastic unitarity. Regge behaviour leads to a stringent bound on the growth of the total cross-section, $\stot (s) \leq 32πα' \ln(s/s_0)$.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2001

Extensive Air Showers from Ultra High Energy Gluinos

We study the proposal that the cosmic ray primaries above the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin (GZK) cutoff are gluino-containing hadrons ($\tilde g$-hadrons). We describe the interaction of $\tilde g$-hadrons with nucleons in the framework of the Gribov-Regge approach using a modified version of the hadronic interaction model QGSJET for the generations of Extensive Air Showers (EAS). There are two mass windows marginally allowed for gluinos: $m_{\tilde g}\lsim 3$ GeV and $25\lsim m_{\tilde g}\lsim 35$ GeV. Gluino-containing hadrons corresponding to the second window produce EAS very different from the observed ones. Light $\tilde g$-hadrons corresponding to the first gluino window produce EAS similar to those initiated by protons, and only future detectors can marginally distinguish them. We propose a beam-dump accelerator experiment to search for $\tilde g$-hadrons in this mass window. We emphasize the importance of this experiment: it can discover (or exclude) the light gluino and its role as a cosmic ray primary at ultra high energies.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2001

Non-adiabatic level crossing in (non-) resonant neutrino oscillations

We study neutrino oscillations and the level-crossing probability $P_{LZ}=\exp(-γ_n\F_nπ/2)$ in power-law like potential profiles $A(r)\propto r^n$. After showing that the resonance point coincides only for a linear profile with the point of maximal violation of adiabaticity, we point out that the ``adiabaticity'' parameter $γ_n$ can be calculated at an arbitrary point if the correction function $\F_n$ is rescaled appropriately. We present a new representation for the level-crossing probability, $P_{LZ}=\exp(-κ_n\G_n)$, which allows a simple numerical evaluation of $P_{LZ}$ in both the resonant and non-resonant cases and where $\G_n$ contains the full dependence of $P_{LZ}$ on the mixing angle $θ$. As an application we consider the case $n=-3$ important for oscillations of supernova neutrinos.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2001

Two particle states, lepton mixing and oscillations

Discussions of lepton mixing and oscillations consider generally only flavor oscillations of neutrinos and neglect the accompanying charged leptons. In cases of experimental interest like pion or nuclear beta decay an oscillation pattern is expected indeed only for neutrinos if only one of the two produced particles is observed. We argue that flavor oscillations of neutrinos without detecting the accompanying lepton is a peculiarity of the two-particle states $|lν>$ produced in pion or nuclear beta decay. Generally, an oscillation pattern is only found if both particles are detected. We discuss in a pedagogical way how this distinction of the neutrinos arises, although on the level of the Lagrangian lepton mixing does not single them out against charged leptons. As examples, we discuss the difference between the state $|lν>$ produced by the decay of real $W$ boson and a $W$ originating from pion decay.

physics.ed-ph↗
arXiv2001

Large lepton mixing and supernova 1987A

We reconsider the impact of $\barν_e \leftrightarrow \barν_{μ,τ}$ neutrino oscillations on the observed $\barν_e$ signal of supernova SN 1987A. Performing a maximum-likelihood analysis using as fit parameters the released binding energy $\Eb$ and the average neutrino energy $\Ee$, we find as previous analyses that $\barν_e \leftrightarrow \barν_{μ,τ}$ oscillations with large mixing angles have lower best-fit values for $\Ee$ than small-mixing angle (SMA) oscillations. Moreover, the inferred value of $\Ee$ is already in the SMA case lower than those found in simulations. This apparent conflict has been interpreted as evidence against the large mixing oscillation solutions to the solar neutrino problem. In order to quantify the degree to which the experimental data favour the SMA over the large mixing solutions we use their likelihood ratios as well as a Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. We find within the range of SN parameters predicted by simulations regions in which the LMA-MSW solution is either only marginally disfavoured or favoured compared to the SMA-MSW solution. We conclude therefore that the LMA-MSW solution is not in conflict with the current understanding of SN physics. In contrast, the vacuum oscillation and the LOW solutions to the solar neutrino problem can be excluded at the $4σ$ level for most of the SN parameter ranges found in simulations. Only a marginal region with low values of $\Ee$, $ $ and $\Eb$ is left over, in which these oscillation solutions can be reconciled with the neutrino signal of SN 1987A.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2000

Ultrahigh energy cosmic rays and new particle physics

The current status of the ultrahigh energy cosmic ray (UHE CR) enigma and several proposed solutions involving particle physics beyond the standard model are discussed. Emphasis is given to top--down models, and as a main example, supermassive dark matter as galactic source for UHE CR and the status of its experimental signatures (galactic anisotropy, chemical composition and clustering) is reviewed. Then different approaches to calculate fragmentation spectra of supermassive particles are discussed. Finally, it is argued that UHE neutrinos cannot be - neither directly or indirectly - responsible for the observed vertical air showers.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2000

Ultrahigh energy neutrino interactions and weak-scale string theories

It has been suggested that ultrahigh energy neutrinos can acquire cross-sections approaching hadronic size if the string scale is as low as 1-10 TeV. In this case, the vertical air showers observed with energies above the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin cutoff at E approximately 6x10^{19} eV could be initiated by neutrinos which are the only known primaries able to travel long distances unimpeded. We have calculated the neutrino-nucleon cross-section due to the exchange of Kaluza-Klein excitations of the graviton in a field theoretical framework. We have found that the neutrino-nucleon cross section and the transferred energy per interaction are too small to explain vertical showers even in the most optimistic scenario.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2000

Monte Carlo simulation for jet fragmentation in SUSY-QCD

We present results from a new Monte Carlo simulation for jet fragmentation in QCD and SUSY QCD for large primary energies $\sqrt s$ up to $10^{16}$ GeV. In the case of SUSY QCD the simulation takes into account not only gluons and quarks as cascading particles, but also their supersymmetric partners. A new model-independent hadronization scheme is developed, in which the hadronization functions are found from LEP data. An interesting feature of SUSY QCD is the prediction of a sizeable flux of the lightest supersymmetric particles (LSPs), if R-parity is conserved. About 10% of the jet energy is transferred to LSPs which, owing to their harder spectra, constitute an important part of the spectra for large $x=E/E_{jet}$. Spectra of protons and of secondary particles, photons and neutrinos, are also calculated. These results have implications for the decay of superheavy particles with masses up to the GUT scale, which have been suggested as a source of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2000

The KARMEN anomaly, light neutralinos and type II supernovae

The KARMEN experiment observes a time anomaly in events induced by pion decay at rest. This anomaly can be ascribed to the production of a new weakly interacting particle X with mass m_X\sim 34 MeV. We show that a recently proposed identification of the X particle with the lightest neutralino χin the frame work of the MSSM with broken R parity is in contradiction to optical observations of type II supernovae.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2000

Supernova Bounds on Majoron-emitting decays of light neutrinos

Neutrino masses arising from the spontaneous violation of ungauged lepton-number are accompanied by a physical Goldstone boson, generically called Majoron. In the high-density supernova medium the effects of Majoron-emitting neutrino decays are important even if they are suppressed in vacuo by small neutrino masses and/or small off-diagonal couplings. We reconsider the influence of these decays on the neutrino signal of supernovae in the light of recent Super-Kamiokande data on solar and atmospheric neutrinos. We find that majoron-neutrino coupling constants in the range $3\times 10^{-7}\lsim g\lsim 2\times 10^{-5}$ or $g \gsim 3 \times 10^{-4}$ are excluded by the observation of SN1987A. Then we discuss the potential of Superkamiokande and the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory to detect majoron neutrino interactions in the case of a future galactic supernova. We find that these experiments could probe majoron neutrino interactions with improved sensitivity.

hep-ph↗
arXiv1998

Limiting SUSY-QCD spectrum and its application for decays of superheavy particles

The supersymmetric generalization of the limiting and Gaussian QCD spectra is obtained. These spectra are valid for $x \ll 1$, when the main contribution to the parton cascade is given by gluons and gluinos. The derived spectra are applied to decaying superheavy particles with masses up to the GUT scale. These particles can be relics from the Big Bang or produced by topological defects and could give rise to the observed ultrahigh energy cosmic rays. General formulae for the fluxes of protons, photons and neutrinos due to decays of superheavy particles are obtained.

hep-ph↗
arXiv1998

Ultrahigh energy cosmic rays and supersymmetry

Recently, models proposing superheavy particles $X$ as source of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays have attracted some interest. The $X$-particles are either metastable relic particles from the early Universe or are released by topological defects. In these models, the detected air-showers are produced by primaries originating from the fragmentation of the $X$-particles. We present the fragmentation spectrum of superheavy particles calculated in SUSY-QCD. Then we discuss the status of the lightest supersymmetric particle as possible ultrahigh energy primary.

hep-ph↗