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Sandhya Choubey

Publications and source records attributed to Sandhya Choubey.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Inverse seesaw and dark matter in a gauged ${\rm B-L}$ extension with flavour symmetry

We propose a model which generates neutrino masses by the inverse seesaw mechanism, provides a viable dark matter candidate and explains the muon ($g-2$) anomaly. The Standard Model (SM) gauge group is extended with a gauged U(1)$_{\rm B-L}$ as well as a gauged U(1)$_{\rm L_μ - L_τ}$. While U(1)$_{\rm L_μ - L_τ}$ is anomaly free, the anomaly introduced by U(1)$_{\rm B-L}$ is cancelled between the six SM singlet fermions introduced for the inverse seesaw mechanism and four additional chiral fermions introduced in this model. After spontaneous symmetry breaking the four chiral fermionic degrees of freedom combine to give two Dirac states. The lightest Dirac fermion becomes stable and hence the dark matter candidate. We focus on the region of the parameter space where the dark matter annihilates to the right-handed neutrinos, relating the dark matter sector with the neutrino sector. The U(1)$_{\rm L_μ - L_τ}$ gauge symmetry provides a flavour structure to the inverse seesaw framework, successfully explaining the observed neutrino masses and mixings. We study the model parameters in the light of neutrino oscillation data and find correlation between them. Values of some of the model parameters are shown to be mutually exclusive between normal and inverted ordering of the neutrino mass eigenstates. Moreover, the muon ($g-2$) anomaly can be explained by the additional contribution arising from U(1)$_{\rm L_μ - L_τ}$ gauge boson.

hep-ph

Prospects of indirect searches for dark matter annihilations in the earth with ICAL@INO

We study the prospects of detecting muon events at the upcoming Iron CALorimeter (ICAL) detector to be built at the proposed India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) facility due to neutrinos arising out of annihilation of Weakly Interactive Massive Particles (WIMP) in the centre of the earth. The atmospheric neutrinos coming from the direction of earth core presents an irreducible background. We consider 50kt $\times$ 10 years of ICAL running and WIMP masses between 10-100 GeV and present 90 \% C.L. exclusion sensitivity limits on $σ_{SI}$ which is the WIMP-nucleon Spin Independent (SI) interaction cross-section. The expected sensitivity limits calculated for ICAL for the WIMP annihilation in the earth are more stringent than the limits obtained by any other indirect detection experiment. For a WIMP mass of ~$52.14 \textup{ GeV}$, where the signal fluxes are enhanced due to resonance capture of WIMP in earth due to Fe nuclei, the sensitivity limits, assuming 100\% branching ratio for each channel, are : $σ_{SI} =1.02\times 10^{-44}~cm^2$ for the $τ^{+} τ^{-}$ channel and $σ_{SI} =5.36\times 10^{-44} ~cm^2$ for the $b ~\bar{b}$ channel.

hep-ph

Measuring the Sterile Neutrino CP Phase at DUNE and T2HK

The CP phases associated with the sterile neutrino cannot be measured in the dedicated short-baseline experiments being built to test the sterile neutrino hypothesis. On the other hand, these phases can be measured in long-baseline experiments, even though the main goal of these experiments is not to test or measure sterile neutrino parameters. In particular, the sterile neutrino phase $δ_{24}$ affects the charged-current electron appearance data in long-baseline experiment. In this paper we show for the first time how well the sterile neutrino phase $δ_{24}$ can be measured by the next-generation long-baseline experiments DUNE, T2HK (and T2HKK). We also show the expected precision with which this sterile phase can be measured by combining the DUNE data with data from T2HK or T2HKK. We also present the sensitivity of these experiments to the sterile mixing angles, both by themselves, as well as when DUNE is combined with T2HK or T2HKK.

hep-ph

Invisible neutrino decay in the light of NOvA and T2K data

We probe for evidence of invisible neutrino decay in the latest NOvA and T2K data. It is seen that both NOvA and T2K data sets are better fitted when one allows for invisible neutrino decay. We consider a scenario where only the third neutrino mass eigenstate $ν_3$ is unstable and decays into invisible components. The best-fit value for the $ν_3$ lifetime is obtained as $τ_{3}/m_{3} = 3.16\times 10^{-12}$ s/eV from the analysis of the NOvA neutrino data and $τ_{3}/m_{3} = 1.0\times 10^{-11}$ s/eV from the analysis of the T2K neutrino and anti-neutrino data. The combined analysis of NOvA and T2K gives $τ_{3}/m_{3} = 5.01\times 10^{-12}$ s/eV as the best-fit lifetime. However, the statistical significance for this preference is weak with the no-decay hypothesis still allowed at close to 1.5$σ$ C.L. from the combined data sets, while the two experiment individually are consistent with no-decay even at the 1$σ$ C.L. At 3$σ$ C.L., the NOvA and T2K data give a lower limit on the neutrino lifetime of $τ_{3}/m_{3}$ is $τ_{3}/m_{3} \geq 7.22 \times 10^{-13}$ s/eV and $τ_{3}/m_{3} \geq 1.41 \times 10^{-12}$ s/eV, respectively, while NOvA and T2K combined constrain $τ_{3}/m_{3} \geq 1.50 \times 10^{-12}$ s/eV. We also show that in presence of decay the best-fit value in the $\sin^{2}θ_{23}$ vs $Δm^{2}_{32}$ plane changes significantly and the allowed regions increase significantly towards higher $\sin^{2}θ_{23}$.

hep-ph

Prospects of Indirect Searches for Dark Matter at INO

The annihilation of Weakly Interactive Massive Particles (WIMP) in the centre of the sun could give rise to neutrino fluxes. We study the prospects of searching for these neutrinos at the upcoming Iron CALorimeter (ICAL) detector to be housed at the India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO). We perform ICAL simulations to obtain the detector efficiencies and resolutions in order to simulate muon events in ICAL due to neutrinos coming from annihilation of WIMP in the mass range $m_χ= (3-100)$ GeV. The atmospheric neutrinos pose a major background for these indirect detection studies and can be reduced using the fact that the signal comes only from the direction of the sun. For a given WIMP mass, we find the opening angle $θ_{90}$ such that 90 \% of the signal events are contained within this angle and use this cone-cut criteria to reduce the atmospheric neutrino background. The reduced background is then weighted by the solar exposure function at INO to obtain the final background spectrum for a given WIMP mass. We perform a $χ^2$ analysis and present expected exclusion regions in the $σ_{SD}-m_χ$ and $σ_{SI}-m_χ$, where $σ_{SD}$ and $σ_{SI}$ are the WIMP-nucleon Spin-Dependent (SD) and Spin-Independent (SI) scattering cross-section, respectively. For a 10 years exposure and $m_χ=25$ GeV, the expected 90 \% C.L. exclusion limit is found to be $σ_{SD} < 6.87\times 10^{-41}$ cm$^2$ and $σ_{SI} < 7.75\times 10^{-43}$ cm$^2$ for the $τ^{+} τ^{-}$ annihilation channel and $σ_{SD} < 1.14\times 10^{-39}$ cm$^2$ and $σ_{SI} < 1.30\times 10^{-41}$ cm$^2$ for the $b~\bar b $ channel, assuming 100 \% branching ratio for each of the WIMP annihilation channel.

hep-ex

Singlet-Triplet Fermionic Dark Matter and LHC Phenomenology

It is well known that for the pure standard model triplet fermionic WIMP-type dark matter (DM), the relic density is satisfied around 2 TeV. For such a heavy mass particle, the production cross-section at 13 TeV run of LHC will be very small. Extending the model further with a singlet fermion and a triplet scalar, DM relic density can be satisfied for even much lower masses. The lower mass DM can be copiously produced at LHC and hence the model can be tested at collider. For the present model we have studied the multi jet ($\geq 2\,j$) + missing energy ($\cancel{E}_{T}$) signal and show that this can be detected in the near future of the LHC 13 TeV run. We also predict that the present model is testable by the earth based DM direct detection experiments like Xenon-1T and in future by Darwin.

hep-ph

A Study of Invisible Neutrino Decay at DUNE and its Effects on $θ_{23}$ Measurement

We study the consequences of invisible decay of neutrinos in the context of the DUNE experiment. We assume that the third mass eigenstate is unstable and decays to a light sterile neutrino and a scalar or a pseudo-scalar. We consider DUNE running in 5 years neutrino and 5 years antineutrino mode and a detector volume of 40 kt. We obtain the bounds on the rest frame life time $τ_3$ normalized to the mass $m_3$ as $τ_3/m_3 > 4.50\times 10^{-11}$ s/eV at 90\% C.L. for a normal hierarchical mass spectrum. We also find that DUNE can discover neutrino decay for $τ_3/m_3 > 4.27\times 10^{-11}$ s/eV at 90\% C.L. In addition, for an unstable $ν_3$ with an illustrative value of $τ_3/m_3$ = $1.2 \times 10^{-11}$ s/eV, the no decay case gets disfavoured at the $3σ$ C.L. At 90\% C.L. the allowed range for this true value is obtained as $1.71 \times 10^{-11} > τ_3/m_3 > 9.29\times 10^{-12}$ in units of s/eV. We also study the correlation between a non-zero $τ_3/m_3$ and standard oscillation parameters and find an interesting correlation in the appearance channel probability with the mixing angle $θ_{23}$. This alters the octant sensitvity of DUNE, favorably (unfavorably) for true $θ_{23}$ in the lower (higher) octant. The effect of a decaying neutrino does not alter the hierarchy or CP discovery sensitivity of DUNE in a discernible way.

hep-ph

Explaining the 3.5 keV X-ray Line in a ${L_μ-L_τ}$ Extension of the Inert Doublet Model

We explain the existence of neutrino masses and their flavor structure, dark matter relic abundance and the observed 3.5 keV X-ray line within the framework of a gauged $U(1)_{L_μ - L_τ}$ extension of the "scotogenic" model. In the $U(1)_{L_μ - L_τ}$ symmetric limit, two of the the RH neutrinos are degenerate in mass, while the third is heavier. The $U(1)_{L_μ - L_τ}$ symmetry is broken spontaneously. Firstly, this breaks the $μ-τ$ symmetry in the light neutrino sector. Secondly, this results in mild splitting of the two degenerate RH neutrinos, with their mass difference given in terms of the $U(1)_{L_μ - L_τ}$ breaking parameter. Finally, we get a massive $Z_{μτ}$ gauge boson. Due to the added $Z_2$ symmetry under which the RH neutrinos and the inert doublet are odd, the canonical Type-I seesaw is forbidden and the tiny neutrino masses are generated radiatively at one loop. The same $Z_2$ symmetry also ensures that the lightest RH neutrino is stable and the other two can only decay into the lightest one. This makes the two nearly-degenerate lighter neutrinos a two-component dark matter, which in our model are produced by the freeze-in mechanism via the decay of the $Z_{μτ}$ gauge boson in the early universe. We show that the next-to-lightest RH neutrino has a very long lifetime and decays into the lightest one at the present epoch explaining the observed 3.5 keV line.

hep-ph

Neutrino Mass, Leptogenesis and FIMP Dark Matter in a ${\rm U}(1)_{\rm B-L}$ Model

The Standard Model (SM) is inadequate to explain the origin of tiny neutrino masses, the dark matter (DM) relic abundance and also the baryon asymmetry of the Universe. In this work to address all the three puzzles, we extend the SM by a local U$(1)_{\rm B-L}$ gauge symmetry, three right-handed (RH) neutrinos for the cancellation of gauge anomalies and two complex scalars having nonzero U$(1)_{\rm B-L}$ charges. All the newly added particles become massive after the breaking of U$(1)_{\rm B-L}$ symmetry by the vacuum expectation value (VEV) of one of the scalar fields $ϕ_H$. The other scalar field $ϕ_{DM}$, which does not have any VEV, becomes automatically stable and can be a viable DM candidate. Neutrino masses are generated using Type-I seesaw mechanism while the required lepton asymmetry to reproduce the observed baryon asymmetry, can be attained from the CP violating out of equilibrium decays of RH neutrinos in TeV scale. More importantly within this framework, we have studied in detail the production of DM via freeze-in mechanism considering all possible annihilation and decay processes. Finally, we find a situation when DM is dominantly produced from the annihilation of RH neutrinos, which are at the same time also responsible for neutrino mass generation and leptogenesis.

hep-ph

Inflation and Dark Matter in the Inert Doublet Model

We discuss inflation and dark matter in the inert doublet model coupled non-minimally to gravity where the inert doublet is the inflaton and the neutral scalar part of the doublet is the dark matter candidate. We calculate the various inflationary parameters like $n_s$, $r$ and $P_s$ and then proceed to the reheating phase where the inflaton decays into the Higgs and other gauge bosons which are non-relativistic owing to high effective masses. These bosons further decay or annihilate to give relativistic fermions which are finally responsible for reheating the universe. At the end of the reheating phase, the inert doublet which was the inflaton enters into thermal equilibrium with the rest of the plasma and its neutral component later freezes out as cold dark matter with a mass of about 2 TeV.

hep-ph

Sensitivity to neutrino decay with atmospheric neutrinos at INO

Sensitivity of the magnetised Iron CALorimeter (ICAL) detector at the proposed India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) to invisible decay of the mass eigenstate $ν_3$ using atmospheric neutrinos is explored. A full three-generation analysis including earth matter effects is performed in a framework with both decay and oscillations. The wide energy range and baselines offered by atmospheric neutrinos are shown to be excellent for constraining the $ν_3$ lifetime. We find that with an exposure of 500 kton-yr the ICAL atmospheric experiment could constrain the $ν_3$ lifetime to $τ_3/m_3>1.51\times10^{-10}$ s/eV at the 90\% C.L. This is two orders of magnitude tighter than the bound from MINOS. The effect of invisible decay on the precision measurement of $θ_{23}$ and $|Δ{m^2_{32}}|$ is also studied.

hep-ph

Imprints of a light Sterile Neutrino at DUNE, T2HK and T2HKK

We evaluate the impact of sterile neutrino oscillations in the so-called 3+1 scenario on the proposed long baseline experiment in USA and Japan. There are two proposals for the Japan experiment which are called T2HK and T2HKK. We show the impact of sterile neutrino oscillation parameters on the expected sensitivity of T2HK and T2HKK to mass hierarchy, CP violation and octant of $θ_{23}$ and compare it against that expected in the case of standard oscillations. We add the expected ten years data from DUNE and present the combined expected sensitivity of T2HKK+DUNE to the oscillation parameters. We do a full marginalisation over the relevant parameter space and show the effect of the magnitude of the true sterile mixing angles on the physics reach of these experiments. We show that if one assumes that the source of CP violation is the standard CP phase alone in the test case, then it appears that the expected CP violation sensitivity decreases due to sterile neutrinos. However, if we give up this assumption, then the CP sensitivity could go in either direction. The impact on expected octant of $θ_{23}$ and mass hierarchy sensitivity is shown to depend on the magnitude of the sterile mixing angles in a nontrivial way.

hep-ph

Search for the sterile neutrino mixing with the ICAL detector at INO

The study has been carried out on the prospects of probing the sterile neutrino mixing with the magnetized Iron CALorimeter (ICAL) at the India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO), using atmospheric neutrinos as a source. The so-called 3~$+$~1 scenario is considered for active-sterile neutrino mixing and lead to projected exclusion curves in the sterile neutrino mass and mixing angle plane. The analysis is performed using the neutrino event generator NUANCE, modified for ICAL, and folded with the detector resolutions obtained by the INO collaboration from a full GEANT4 based detector simulation. A comparison has been made between the results obtained from the analysis considering only the energy and zenith angle of the muon and combined with the hadron energy due to the neutrino induced event. A small improvement has been observed with the addition of the hadron information to the muon. In the analysis we consider neutrinos coming from all zenith angles and the Earth matter effects are also included. The inclusion of events from all zenith angles improves the sensitivity to sterile neutrino mixing by about 35$\%$ over the result obtained using only down-going events. The improvement mainly stems from the impact of Earth matter effects on active-sterile mixing. The expected precision of ICAL on the active-sterile mixing is explored and allowed confidence level (C.L.) contours presented. At the assumed true value of $10^\circ$ for the sterile mixing angles and marginalization over $Δm^2_{41}$ and the sterile mixing angles, the upper bound at 90\% C.L. (from 2 parameter plots) is around $20^\circ$ for $θ_{14}$ and $θ_{34}$, and about $12^\circ$ for $θ_{24}$.

hep-ph

Physics Potential of the ICAL detector at the India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO)

The upcoming 50 kt magnetized iron calorimeter (ICAL) detector at the India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) is designed to study the atmospheric neutrinos and antineutrinos separately over a wide range of energies and path lengths. The primary focus of this experiment is to explore the Earth matter effects by observing the energy and zenith angle dependence of the atmospheric neutrinos in the multi-GeV range. This study will be crucial to address some of the outstanding issues in neutrino oscillation physics, including the fundamental issue of neutrino mass hierarchy. In this document, we present the physics potential of the detector as obtained from realistic detector simulations. We describe the simulation framework, the neutrino interactions in the detector, and the expected response of the detector to particles traversing it. The ICAL detector can determine the energy and direction of the muons to a high precision, and in addition, its sensitivity to multi-GeV hadrons increases its physics reach substantially. Its charge identification capability, and hence its ability to distinguish neutrinos from antineutrinos, makes it an efficient detector for determining the neutrino mass hierarchy. In this report, we outline the analyses carried out for the determination of neutrino mass hierarchy and precision measurements of atmospheric neutrino mixing parameters at ICAL, and give the expected physics reach of the detector with 10 years of runtime. We also explore the potential of ICAL for probing new physics scenarios like CPT violation and the presence of magnetic monopoles.

physics.ins-det

FIMP and Muon ($g-2$) in a U$(1)_{L_μ-L_τ}$ Model

The tightening of the constraints on the standard thermal WIMP scenario has forced physicists to propose alternative dark matter (DM) models. One of the most popular alternate explanations of the origin of DM is the non-thermal production of DM via freeze-in. In this scenario the DM never attains thermal equilibrium with the thermal soup because of its feeble coupling strength ($\sim 10^{-12}$) with the other particles in the thermal bath and is generally called the Feebly Interacting Massive Particle (FIMP). In this work, we present a gauged U(1)$_{L_μ-L_τ}$ extension of the Standard Model (SM) which has a scalar FIMP DM candidate and can consistently explain the DM relic density bound. In addition, the spontaneous breaking of the U(1)$_{L_μ-L_τ}$ gauge symmetry gives an extra massive neutral gauge boson $Z_{μτ}$ which can explain the muon ($g-2$) data through its additional one-loop contribution to the process. Lastly, presence of three right-handed neutrinos enable the model to successfully explain the small neutrino masses via the Type-I seesaw mechanism. The presence of the spontaneously broken U(1)$_{L_μ-L_τ}$ gives a particular structure to the light neutrino mass matrix which can explain the peculiar mixing pattern of the light neutrinos.

hep-ph

Constraints on Sterile Neutrino Oscillations using DUNE Near Detector

DUNE (Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment) is a proposed long-baseline neutrino experiment in the US with a baseline of 1300 km from Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) to Sanford Underground Research Facility, which will house a 40 kt Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LArTPC) as the far detector. The experiment will also have a fine grained near detector for accurately measuring the initial fluxes. We show that the energy range of the fluxes and baseline of the DUNE near detector is conducive for observing $ν_μ\to ν_e$ oscillations of $Δm^2 \sim$ eV$^2$ scale sterile neutrinos, and hence can be effectively used for testing to very high accuracy the reported oscillation signal seen by the LSND and MiniBooNE experiments. We study the sensitivity of the DUNE near detector to sterile neutrino oscillations by varying the baseline, detector fiducial mass and systematic uncertainties. We find that the detector mass and baseline of the currently proposed near detector at DUNE will be able to test the entire LSND parameter region with good precision. The dependence of sensitivity on baseline and detector mass is seen to give interesting results, while dependence on systematic uncertainties is seen to be small.

hep-ph

Neutrino Mass, Dark Matter and Anomalous Magnetic Moment of Muon in a $U(1)_{L_μ-L_τ}$ Model

The observation of neutrino masses, mixing and the existence of dark matter are amongst the most important signatures of physics beyond the Standard Model (SM). In this paper, we propose to extend the SM by a local $L_μ- L_τ$ gauge symmetry, two additional complex scalars and three right-handed neutrinos. The $L_μ- L_τ$ gauge symmetry is broken spontaneously when one of the scalars acquires a vacuum expectation value. The $L_μ- L_τ$ gauge symmetry is known to be anomaly free and can explain the beyond SM measurement of the anomalous muon $({\rm g-2})$ through additional contribution arising from the extra $Z_{μτ}$ mediated diagram. Small neutrino masses are explained naturally through the Type-I seesaw mechanism, while the mixing angles are predicted to be in their observed ranges due to the broken $L_μ-L_τ$ symmetry. The second complex scalar is shown to be stable and becomes the dark matter candidate in our model. We show that while the $Z_{μτ}$ portal is ineffective for the parameters needed to explain the anomalous muon $({\rm g-2})$ data, the correct dark matter relic abundance can easily be obtained from annihilation through the Higgs portal. Annihilation of the scalar dark matter in our model can also explain the Galactic Centre gamma ray excess observed by Fermi-LAT. We show the predictions of our model for future direct detection experiments and neutrino oscillation experiments.

hep-ph

Galactic Gamma Ray Excess and Dark Matter Phenomenology in a $U(1)_{B-L}$ Model

In this work, we have considered a gauged $U(1)_{\rm B-L}$ extension of the Standard Model (SM) with three right handed neutrinos for anomaly cancellation and two additional SM singlet complex scalars with non-trivial B-L charges. One of these is used to spontaneously break the $U(1)_{\rm B-L}$ gauge symmetry, leading to Majorana masses for the neutrinos through the standard Type I seesaw mechanism, while the other becomes the dark matter (DM) candidate in the model. We test the viability of the model to simultaneously explain the DM relic density observed in the CMB data as well as the Galactic Centre (GC) $γ$-ray excess seen by Fermi-LAT. We show that for DM masses in the range 40-55 GeV and for a wide range of $U(1)_{\rm B-L}$ gauge boson masses, one can satisfy both these constraints if the additional neutral Higgs scalar has a mass around the resonance region. In studying the dark matter phenomenology and GC excess, we have taken into account theoretical as well as experimental constraints coming from vacuum stability condition, PLANCK bound on DM relic density, LHC and LUX and present allowed areas in the model parameter space consistent with all relevant data, calculate the predicted gamma ray flux from the GC and discuss the related phenomenology.

hep-ph