arXiv subjects

M. Tortola

Publications and source records attributed to M. Tortola.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2021

Non-unitary neutrino mixing in short and long-baseline experiments

Non-unitary neutrino mixing in the light neutrino sector is a direct consequence of type-I seesaw neutrino mass models. In these models, light neutrino mixing is described by a sub-matrix of the full lepton mixing matrix and, then, it is not unitary in general. In consequence, neutrino oscillations are characterized by additional parameters, including new sources of CP violation. Here we perform a combined analysis of short and long-baseline neutrino oscillation data in this extended mixing scenario. We did not find a significant deviation from unitary mixing, and the complementary data sets have been used to constrain the non-unitarity parameters. We have also found that the T2K and NOvA tension in the determination of the Dirac CP-phase is not alleviated in the context of non-unitary neutrino mixing.

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arXiv2020

Sterile neutrinos with altered dispersion relations revisited

In this paper we investigate neutrino oscillations with altered dispersion relations in the presence of sterile neutrinos. Modified dispersion relations represent an agnostic way to parameterize new physics. Models of this type have been suggested to explain global neutrino oscillation data, including deviations from the standard three-neutrino paradigm as observed by a few experiments. We show that, unfortunately, in this type of models new tensions arise turning them incompatible with global data.

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arXiv2018

Status of neutrino oscillations 2018: first hint for normal mass ordering and improved CP sensitivity

We present a new global fit of neutrino oscillation parameters within the simplest three-neutrino picture, including new data which appeared since our previous analysis~\cite{Forero:2014bxa}. In this update we include new long-baseline neutrino data involving the antineutrino channel in T2K, as well as new data in the neutrino channel, data from NO$ν$A, as well as new reactor data, such as the Daya Bay 1230 days electron antineutrino disappearance spectrum data and the 1500 live days prompt spectrum from RENO, as well as new Double Chooz data. We also include atmospheric neutrino data from the IceCube DeepCore and ANTARES neutrino telescopes and from Super-Kamiokande. Finally, we also update our solar oscillation analysis by including the 2055-day day/night spectrum from the fourth phase of the Super-Kamiokande experiment. With the new data we find a preference for the atmospheric angle in the upper octant for both neutrino mass orderings, with maximal mixing allowed at $Δχ^2 = 1.6 \, (3.2)$ for normal (inverted) ordering. We also obtain a strong preference for values of the CP phase $δ$ in the range $[π,2π]$, excluding values close to $π/2$ at more than 4$σ$. More remarkably, our global analysis shows for the first time hints in favour of the normal mass ordering over the inverted one at more than 3$σ$. We discuss in detail the origin of the mass ordering, CP violation and octant sensitivities, analyzing the interplay among the different neutrino data samples.

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arXiv2018

Neutrino oscillations and Non-Standard Interactions

Current neutrino experiments measure the neutrino mixing parameters with an unprecedented accuracy. The upcoming generation of experiments will be sensitive to subdominant effects that can give information on the unknown neutrino parameters: the Dirac CP-violating phase, the mass ordering and the $θ_{23}$ octant. Determining the exact values of neutrino mass and mixing parameters is crucial to test neutrino models and flavor symmetries. In the first part of this review, we summarize the current status of neutrino oscillation parameters. We consider the most recent data from solar experiments and the atmospheric data from Super-Kamiokande, IceCube and ANTARES. We implement the data from the reactor experiments KamLAND, Daya Bay, RENO and Double Chooz as well as the long baseline data from MINOS, T2K and NOvA. If in addition to the standard interactions, neutrinos have subdominant Non-Standard Interactions (NSI) with matter, extracting the values of these parameters will suffer from new degeneracies. We review such effects and formulate the conditions on the NSI parameters under which the precision measurement of neutrino oscillation parameters can be distorted. Like standard weak interactions, NSI can be categorized into Charged and Neutral Current NSI. Our focus will be on NC NSI since it is possible to build a class of models giving rise to sizeable NC NSI with effects on neutrino oscillations. These models are based on new $U(1)$ gauge symmetry with a boson of mass $\lesssim 10$ MeV. The UV complete model should be electroweak invariant which implies that along with neutrinos, charged fermions acquire new interactions on which there are strong bounds. We enumerate the bounds that exist on such models and show that it is possible to build viable models avoiding all the bounds. We review methods to test these models and suggest approaches to break the degeneracies caused by NSI.

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arXiv2017

Probing light sterile neutrino signatures at reactor and Spallation Neutron Source neutrino experiments

We investigate the impact of a fourth sterile neutrino at reactor and Spallation Neutron Source neutrino detectors. Specifically, we explore the discovery potential of the TEXONO and COHERENT experiments to subleading sterile neutrino effects through the measurement of the coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering event rate. Our dedicated $χ^2$-sensitivity analysis employs realistic nuclear structure calculations adequate for high purity sub-keV threshold Germanium detectors.

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arXiv2017

Measuring the Leptonic CP Phase in Neutrino Oscillations with Non-Unitary Mixing

Non-unitary neutrino mixing implies an extra CP violating phase that can fake the leptonic Dirac CP phase $δ_{CP}$ of the simplest three-neutrino mixing benchmark scheme. This would hinder the possibility of probing for CP violation in accelerator-type experiments. We take T2K and T2HK as examples to demonstrate the degeneracy between the "standard" (or "unitary") and "non-unitary" CP phases. We find, under the assumption of non-unitary mixing, that their CP sensitivities severely deteriorate. Fortunately, the TNT2K proposal of supplementing T2(H)K with a $μ$DAR source for better measurement of $δ_{CP}$ can partially break the CP degeneracy by probing both $\cos δ_{CP}$ and $\sin δ_{CP}$ dependences in the wide spectrum of the $μ$DAR flux. We also show that the further addition of a near detector to the $μ$DAR setup can eliminate the degeneracy completely.

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arXiv2016

New ambiguity in probing CP violation in neutrino oscillations

If neutrinos get mass via the seesaw mechanism the mixing matrix describing neutrino oscillations can be effectively non-unitary. We show that in this case the neutrino appearance probabilities involve a new CP phase, phi, associated to non-unitarity. This leads to an ambiguity in extracting the "standard" three--neutrino phase delta_CP, which can survive even after neutrino and antineutrino channels are combined. Its existence should be taken into account in the planning of any oscillation experiment aiming at a robust measurement of delta_CP.

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arXiv2016

The weak mixing angle from low energy neutrino measurements: a global update

Taking into account recent theoretical and experimental inputs on reactor fluxes we reconsider the determination of the weak mixing angle from low energy experiments. We perform a global analysis to all available neutrino-electron scattering data from reactor antineutrino experiments, obtaining sin^2(theta_W) = 0.252 \pm 0.030. We discuss the impact of the new theoretical prediction for the neutrino spectrum, the new measurement of the reactor antineutrino spectrum by the Daya Bay collaboration, as well as the effect of radiative corrections. We also reanalyze the measurements of the nu_e-e cross section at accelerator experiments including radiative corrections. By combining reactor and accelerator data we obtain an improved determination for the weak mixing angle, sin^2(theta_W) = 0.254 \pm 0.024.

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arXiv2016

On the description of non-unitary neutrino mixing

Neutrino oscillations are well established and the relevant parameters determined with good precision, except for the CP phase, in terms of a unitary lepton mixing matrix. Seesaw extensions of the Standard Model predict unitarity deviations due to the admixture of heavy isosinglet neutrinos. We provide a complete description of the unitarity and universality deviations in the light neutrino sector. Neutrino oscillation experiments involving electron or muon neutrinos and anti-neutrinos are fully described in terms of just three new real parameters and a new CP phase, in addition to the ones describing oscillations with unitary mixing. Using this formalism we describe the implications of non-unitarity for neutrino oscillations and summarize the model-independent constraints on heavy neutrino couplings that arise from current experiments.

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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

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

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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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

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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arXiv2013

The minimal adjoint-SU(5)xZ_4 GUT model

An extension of the adjoint SU(5) model with a flavour symmetry based on the Z_4 group is investigated. The Z_4 symmetry is introduced with the aim of leading the up- and down-quark mass matrices to the Nearest-Neighbour-Interaction form. As a consequence of the discrete symmetry embedded in the SU(5) gauge group, the charged lepton mass matrix also gets the same form. Within this model, light neutrinos get their masses through type-I, type-III and one-loop radiative seesaw mechanisms, implemented, respectively, via a singlet, a triplet and an octet from the adjoint fermionic 24 fields. It is demonstrated that the neutrino phenomenology forces the introduction of at least three 24 fermionic multiplets. The symmetry SU(5)xZ_4 allows only two viable zero textures for the effective neutrino mass matrix. It is showed that one texture is only compatible with normal hierarchy and the other with inverted hierarchy in the light neutrino mass spectrum. Finally, it is also demonstrated that Z_4 freezes out the possibility of proton decay through exchange of colour Higgs triplets at tree-level.

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arXiv2012

Bi-large neutrino mixing and the Cabibbo angle

Recent measurements of the neutrino mixing angles cast doubt on the validity of the so-far popular tri-bimaximal mixing ansatz. We propose a parametrization for the neutrino mixing matrix where the reactor angle seeds the large solar and atmospheric mixing angles, equal to each other in first approximation. We suggest such bi-large mixing pattern as a model building standard, realized when the leading order value of the reactor angle equals the Cabibbo angle.

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arXiv2011

Lepton flavor violation and non-unitary lepton mixing in low-scale type-I seesaw

Within low-scale seesaw mechanisms, such as the inverse and linear seesaw, one expects (i) potentially large lepton flavor violation (LFV) and (ii) sizeable non-standard neutrino interactions (NSI). We consider the interplay between the magnitude of non-unitarity effects in the lepton mixing matrix, and the constraints that follow from LFV searches in the laboratory. We find that NSI parameters can be sizeable, up to percent level in some cases, while LFV rates, such as that for μ-> e γ, lie within current limits, including the recent one set by the MEG collaboration. As a result the upcoming long baseline neutrino experiments offer a window of opportunity for complementary LFV and weak universality tests.

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