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Srubabati Goswami

Publications and source records attributed to Srubabati Goswami.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

2540 km: Bimagic baseline for neutrino oscillation parameters

We show that a source-to-detector distance of 2540 km offers multiple advantages for a low energy neutrino factory with a detector that can identify muon charge. At this baseline, for any neutrino hierarchy, the wrong-sign muon signal is almost independent of CP violation and $θ_{13}$ in certain energy ranges. This reduces the uncertainties due to these parameters and allows the identification of the hierarchy in a clean way. In addition, part of the muon spectrum is also sensitive to the CP violating phase and $θ_{13}$, so that the same setup can be used to probe these parameters as well.

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Collective Flavor Oscillations Of Supernova Neutrinos and r-Process Nucleosynthesis

Neutrino-neutrino interactions inside core-collapse supernovae may give rise to collective flavor oscillations resulting in swap between flavors. These oscillations depend on the initial energy spectra, and relative fluxes or relative luminosities of the neutrinos. It has been observed that departure from energy equipartition among different flavors can give rise to one or more sharp spectral swap over energy, termed as splits. We study the occurrence of splits in the neutrino and antineutrino spectra, varying the initial relative fluxes for different models of initial energy spectrum, in both normal and inverted hierarchy. These initial relative flux variations give rise to several possible split patterns whereas variation over different models of energy spectra give similar results. We explore the effect of these spectral splits on the electron fraction, $Y_e$, that governs r-process nucleosynthesis inside supernovae. Since spectral splits modify the electron neutrino and antineutrino spectra in the region where r-process is postulated to happen, and since the pattern of spectral splits depends on the initial conditions of the spectra and the neutrino mass hierarchy, we show that the condition $Y_e < 0.5$ required for successful r-process nucleosynthesis will lead to constraints on the initial spectral conditions, for a given neutrino mass hierarchy.

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Mass Hierarchy Determination for $θ_{13}=0$ and Atmospheric Neutrinos

We examine the possibility of determining the neutrino mass hierarchy in the limit θ_{13} = 0 using atmospheric neutrinos as the source. In this limit, in which θ_{13} driven matter effects are absent, independent measurements of Δ_{31} and Δ_{32} can, in principle, lead to hierarchy determination. Since the difference between these two is Δ_{21}, one needs an experimental arrangement where Δ_{21} L/E \gtrsim 1 can be achieved. This condition can be satisfied by atmospheric neutrinos since they have a large range of energies and baselines. In spite of this, we find that hierarchy determination in the θ_{13}=0 limit with atmospheric neutrinos is not a realistic possibility, even in conjunction with an apparently synergistic beam experiment like T2K or NOvA. We discuss the reasons for this, and also in the process clarify the conditions that must be satisfied in general for hierarchy determination if θ_{13} = 0.

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Large U_{e3} and Tri-bimaximal Mixing

We investigate in a model-independent way to what extent one can perturb tri-bimaximal mixing in order to generate a sizable value of |U_{e3}|, while at the same time keeping solar neutrino mixing near its measured value, which is close to sin^2 theta_{12} = 1/3. Three straightforward breaking mechanisms to generate |U_{e3}| of about 0.1 are considered. For charged lepton corrections, the suppression of a sizable contribution to sin^2 theta_{12} can be achieved if CP violation in neutrino oscillations is almost maximal. Generation of the indicated value of |U_{e3}| of about 0.1 through renormalization group corrections requires the neutrinos to be quasi-degenerate in mass. The consistency with the allowed range of sin^2 theta_{12} together with large running of |U_{e3}| forces one of the Majorana phases to be close to pi. This implies large cancellations in the effective Majorana mass governing neutrino-less double beta, constraining it to lie near its minimum allowed value of m_0 cos 2 theta_{12}, where m_0 is greater than about 0.1 eV. Finally, explicit breaking of the neutrino mass matrix in the inverted hierarchical and quasi-degenerate neutrino mass spectrum cases is similarly correlated with the effective Majorana mass, although to a lesser extent. The implied values for the atmospheric neutrino mixing angle theta_{23} are given in all cases.

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Minimal Textures in Seesaw Mass Matrices and their low and high Energy Phenomenology

In an attempt to find minimal scenarios we study the implications of Dirac and Majorana mass matrices with texture zeros within the type I seesaw mechanism. For the Dirac mass matrices we consider 5 zero textures which we show to be the most minimal form that can successfully account for low energy phenomenology if the Majorana mass matrices are chosen minimal as well. For those, we consider both diagonal and even more minimal non-diagonal forms. The latter can be motivated e.g. by simple U(1) flavour symmetries and have two degenerate eigenvalues. We classify the allowed textures and discuss the ramifications for leptogenesis and lepton flavour violation.

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Hybrid textures in minimal seesaw mass matrices

In the context of minimal seesaw framework, we study the implications of Dirac and Majorana mass matrices in which two rigid properties coexist, namely, equalities among mass matrix elements and texture zeros. In the first part of the study, we discuss general possibilities of the Dirac and Majorana mass matrices for neutrinos with such hybrid structures. We then classify the mass matrices into realistic textures which are compatible with global neutrino oscillation data and unrealistic ones which do not comply with the data. Among the large number of general possibilities, we find that only 6 patterns are consistent with the observations at the level of the most minimal number of free parameters. These solutions have only 2 adjustable parameters, so that all the mixing angles can be described in terms of the two mass differences or pure numbers. We analyze these textures in detail and discuss their impacts for future neutrino experiments and for leptogenesis.

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Renormalization group evolution of neutrino masses and mixing in the Type-III seesaw mechanism

We consider the standard model extended by heavy right handed fermions transforming as triplets under SU(2)$_L$, which generate neutrino masses through the Type-III seesaw mechanism. At energies below their respective mass scales, the heavy fields get sequentially decoupled to give an effective dimension-5 operator. Above their mass thresholds, these fields also participate in the renormalization of the wavefunctions, masses and coupling constants. We compute the renormalization group evolution of the effective neutrino mass matrix in this model, with particular emphasis on the threshold effects. The evolution equations are obtained in a basis of neutrino parameters where all the quantities are well-defined everywhere, including at $θ_{13} = 0$. We also point out the important role of the threshold effects and Majorana phases in the evolution of mixing angles through illustrative examples.

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Renormalization group evolution of neutrino mixing parameters near $θ_{13} = 0$ and models with vanishing $θ_{13}$ at the high scale

Renormalization group (RG) evolution of the neutrino mass matrix may take the value of the mixing angle $θ_{13}$ very close to zero, or make it vanish. On the other hand, starting from $θ_{13}=0$ at the high scale it may be possible to generate a non-zero $θ_{13}$ radiatively. In the most general scenario with non-vanishing CP violating Dirac and Majorana phases, we explore the evolution in the vicinity of $θ_{13}=0$, in terms of its structure in the complex ${\cal U}_{e3}$ plane. This allows us to explain the apparent singularity in the evolution of the Dirac CP phase $δ$ at $θ_{13}=0$. We also introduce a formalism for calculating the RG evolution of neutrino parameters that uses the Jarlskog invariant and naturally avoids this singular behaviour. We find that the parameters need to be extremely fine-tuned in order to get exactly vanishing $θ_{13}$ during evolution. For the class of neutrino mass models with $θ_{13}=0$ at the high scale, we calculate the extent to which RG evolution can generate a nonzero $θ_{13}$, when the low energy effective theory is the standard model or its minimal supersymmetric extension. We find correlated constraints on $θ_{13}$, the lightest neutrino mass $m_0$, the effective Majorana mass $m_{ee}$ measured in the neutrinoless double beta decay, and the supersymmetric parameter $\tanβ$.

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Minimal Seesaw Textures with Two Heavy Neutrinos

We systematically analyze the Dirac and the Majorana mass matrices in seesaw models with two heavy right-handed neutrinos. We perform thorough classification of the vanishing matrix elements which are compatible with the results from the current neutrino oscillation experiments. We include the possibility of a non-diagonal Majorana mass matrix which leads to new solutions viable with data. In a basis where the Majorana mass matrix is diagonal, these solutions imply a Dirac matrix with specific relationships amongst its elements. We find that at the level of total 4 zeros together in the Dirac and the Majorana sectors, the mass matrices are almost consistent with the data but one mixing angle is predicted to be unsuitable. At the next level, i.e. with total 3 zeros, only seven patterns of mass matrices describe the experimental data well. The seven solutions have testable predictions for the future neutrino experiments. In particular, each solution has definite predictions about the observation of the 1-3 leptonic mixing angle and the effective mass measured in neutrino-less double beta decay. The solutions of the mass matrices contain novel texture forms and provide new insights into the lepton-generation structure. We also discuss possible connections between these textures and the tri-bimaximal mixing to search for symmetry principles behind the mass matrix structure.

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Resolving the Mass Hierarchy with Atmospheric Neutrinos using a Liquid Argon Detector

We explore the potential offered by large-mass Liquid Argon detectors for determination of the sign of Delta m_{31}^2, or the neutrino mass hierarchy, through interactions of atmospheric neutrinos. We give results for a 100 kT sized magnetized detector which provides separate sensitivity to ν_μ, \barν_μand, over a limited energy range, to ν_e, \barν_e.We also discuss the sensitivity for the unmagnetized version of such a detector. After including the effect of smearing in neutrino energy and direction and incorporating the relevant statistical,theoretical and systematic errors, we perform a binned χ^2 analysis of simulated data. The χ^2 is marginalized over the presently allowed ranges of neutrino parameters and determined as a function of θ_{13}. We find that such a detector offers superior capabilities for hierarchy resolution, allowing a > 4σdetermination for a 100 kT detector over a 10 year running period for values of \sin^2 2θ_{13} \ge 0.05. For an unmagnetized detector, a 2.5σhierarchy sensitivity is possible for \sin^2 2θ_{13} = 0.04.

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Neutrino Oscillation Parameters After High Statistics KamLAND Results

We do a re-analysis to asses the impact of the results of the Borexino experiment and the recent 2.8 KTy KamLAND data on the solar neutrino oscillation parameters. The current Borexino results are found to have no impact on the allowed solar neutrino parameter space. The new KamLAND data causes a significant reduction of the allowed range of $Δm^2_{21}$, determining it with an unprecedented precision of 8.3% at 3$σ$. The precision of $Δm^2_{21}$ is controlled practically by the KamLAND data alone. Inclusion of new KamLAND results also improves the upper bound on $\sin^2θ_{12}$, but the precision of this parameter continues to be controlled by the solar data. The third mixing angle is constrained to be $\sin^2θ_{13} < 0.063$ at $3σ$ from a combined fit to the solar, KamLAND, atmospheric and CHOOZ results. We also address the issue of how much further reduction of allowed range of $Δm^2_{21}$ and $\sin^2θ_{12}$ is possible with increased statistics from KamLAND. We find that there is a sharp reduction of the $3σ$ ``spread'' with enhanced statistics till about 10 KTy after which the spread tends to flatten out reaching to less than 4% with 15 KTy data. For $\sin^2θ_{12}$ however, the spread is more than 25% even after 20 KTy exposure and assuming $θ_{12} < π/4$, as dictated by the solar data. We show that with a KamLAND like reactor ``SPMIN'' experiment at a distance of $\sim$ 60 km, the spread of $\sin^2θ_{12}$ could be reduced to about 5% at $3σ$ level while $Δm_{21}^2$ could be determined to within 4%, with just 3 KTy exposure.

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Testing non-unitarity of neutrino mixing matrices at neutrino factories

In this paper we explore the effect of non-unitary neutrino mixing on neutrino oscillation probabilities both in vacuum and matter. In particular, we consider the $ν_μ\to ν_τ$ channel and using a Neutrino Factory as the source for $ν_μ$'s discuss the constraints that can be obtained on the moduli and phases of the parameters characterizing the violation of unitarity. We point out how the new CP violation phases present in the case where the non-unitary mixings give rise to spurious ``degenerate'' solutions in the parameter space and discuss how the true solutions can be extricated by combining measurements at several baselines.

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MiniBooNE Results and Neutrino Schemes with 2 sterile Neutrinos: Possible Mass Orderings and Observables related to Neutrino Masses

The MiniBooNE and LSND experiments are compatible with each other when two sterile neutrinos are added to the three active ones. In this case there are eight possible mass orderings. In two of them both sterile neutrinos are heavier than the three active ones. In the next two scenarios both sterile neutrinos are lighter than the three active ones. The remaining four scenarios have one sterile neutrino heavier and another lighter than the three active ones. We analyze all scenarios with respect to their predictions for mass-related observables. These are the sum of neutrino masses as constrained by cosmological observations, the kinematic mass parameter as measurable in the KATRIN experiment, and the effective mass governing neutrinoless double beta decay. It is investigated how these non-oscillation probes can distinguish between the eight scenarios. Six of the eight possible mass orderings predict positive signals in the KATRIN and future neutrinoless double beta decay experiments. We also remark on scenarios with three sterile neutrinos. In addition we make some comments on the possibility of using decays of high energy astrophysical neutrinos to discriminate between the mass orderings in presence of two sterile neutrinos.

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Radiatively broken symmetries of nonhierarchical neutrinos

Symmetry-based ideas, such as the quark-lepton complementarity (QLC) principle and the tri-bimaximal mixing (TBM) scheme, have been proposed to explain the observed mixing pattern of neutrinos. We argue that such symmetry relations need to be imposed at a high scale $Λ\sim 10^{12}$ GeV characterizing the large masses of right-handed neutrinos required to implement the seesaw mechanism. For nonhierarchical neutrinos, renormalisation group evolution down to a laboratory energy scale $λ\sim 10^3$ GeV tends to radiatively break these symmetries at a significant level and spoil the mixing pattern predicted by them. However, for Majorana neutrinos, suitable constraints on the extra phases $α_{2,3}$ enable the retention of those high scale mixing patterns at laboratory energies. We examine this issue within the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) and demonstrate the fact posited above for two versions of QLC and two versions of TBM. The appropriate constraints are worked out for all these four cases. Specifically, a preference for $α_2 \approx π$ (i.e. $m_1 \approx -m_2$) emerges in each case. We also show how a future accurate measurement of $θ_{13}$ may enable some discrimination among these four cases in spite of renormalization group evolution.

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Mass Hierarchy Determination via future Atmospheric Neutrino Detectors

We study the problem of determination of the sign of Delta m^2_{31}, or the neutrino mass hierarchy, through observations of atmospheric neutrinos in future detectors. We consider two proposed detector types : (a) Megaton sized water Cerenkov detectors, which can measure the survival rates of nu_μ+ \barν_μand nu_e + \barν_e and (b) 100 kton sized magnetized iron detectors, which can measure the survival rates of ν_μand \barν_μ. For energies and path-lengths relevant to atmospheric neutrinos, these rates obtain significant matter contributions from P_{μe}, P_{μμ} and P_{ee}, leading to an appreciable sensitivity to the hierarchy. We do a binned χ^2 analysis of simulated data in these two types of detectors which includes the effect of smearing in neutrino energy and direction and incorporates detector efficiencies and relevant statistical, theoretical and systematic errors. We also marginalize the χ^2 over the allowed ranges of neutrino parameters in order to accurately account for their uncertainties. Finally, we compare the performance of both types of detectors vis a vis the hierarchy determination.

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Neutrino parameters from matter effects in $P_{ee}$ at long baselines

We show that the earth matter effects in the ${\rm {ν_e \to ν_e}}$ survival probability can be used to cleanly determine the third leptonic mixing angle $θ_{13}$ and the sign of the atmospheric neutrino mass squared difference, $Δm^2_{31}$, using a $β$-beam as a $ν_e$ source.

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Corrections to Tri-bimaximal Neutrino Mixing: Renormalization and Planck Scale Effects

We study corrections to tri-bimaximal (TBM) neutrino mixing from renormalization group (RG) running and from Planck scale effects. We show that while the RG effects are negligible in the standard model (SM), for quasi-degenerate neutrinos and large $\tanβ$ in the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM) all three mixing angles may change significantly. In both these cases, the direction of the modification of $θ_{12}$ is fixed, while that of $θ_{23}$ is determined by the neutrino mass ordering. The Planck scale effects can also change $θ_{12}$ up to a few degrees in either direction for quasi-degenerate neutrinos. These effects may dominate over the RG effects in the SM, and in the MSSM with small $\tan β$. The usual constraints on neutrino masses, Majorana phases or $\tan β$ stemming from RG running arguments can then be relaxed. We quantify the extent of Planck effects on the mixing angles in terms of "mismatch phases" which break the symmetries leading to TBM. In particular, we show that when the mismatch phases vanish, the mixing angles are not affected in spite of the Planck scale contribution. Similar statements may be made for $μ$-$τ$ symmetric mass matrices.

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