arXiv subjects

Steen Hannestad

Publications and source records attributed to Steen Hannestad.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2022

Neutrino mass and mass ordering: No conclusive evidence for normal ordering

The extraction of the neutrino mass ordering is one of the major challenges in particle physics and cosmology, not only for its implications for a fundamental theory of mass generation in nature, but also for its decisive role in the scale of future neutrinoless double beta decay experimental searches. It has been recently claimed that current oscillation, beta decay and cosmological limits on the different observables describing the neutrino mass parameter space provide robust decisive Bayesian evidence in favor of the normal ordering of the neutrino mass spectrum [arXiv:2203.14247]. We further investigate these strong claims using a rich and wide phenomenology, with different sampling techniques of the neutrino parameter space. Contrary to the findings of Jimenez et al [arXiv:2203.14247], no decisive evidence for the normal mass ordering is found. Neutrino mass ordering analyses must rely on priors and parameterizations that are ordering-agnostic: robust results should be regarded as those in which the preference for the normal neutrino mass ordering is driven exclusively by the data, while we find a difference of up to a factor of 33 in the Bayes factors among the different priors and parameterizations exploited here. An ordering-agnostic prior would be represented by the case of parameterizations sampling over the two mass splittings and a mass scale, or those sampling over the individual neutrino masses via normal prior distributions only. In this regard, we show that the current significance in favor of the normal mass ordering should be taken as $2.7σ$ (i.e. moderate evidence), mostly driven by neutrino oscillation data.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2022

Neutrino Self-Interactions: A White Paper

Neutrinos are the Standard Model (SM) particles which we understand the least, often due to how weakly they interact with the other SM particles. Beyond this, very little is known about interactions among the neutrinos, i.e., their self-interactions. The SM predicts neutrino self-interactions at a level beyond any current experimental capabilities, leaving open the possibility for beyond-the-SM interactions across many energy scales. In this white paper, we review the current knowledge of neutrino self-interactions from a vast array of probes, from cosmology, to astrophysics, to the laboratory. We also discuss theoretical motivations for such self-interactions, including neutrino masses and possible connections to dark matter. Looking forward, we discuss the capabilities of searches in the next generation and beyond, highlighting the possibility of future discovery of this beyond-the-SM physics.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2022

$ν\scriptstyle{\rm CO}N{\rm CEPT}$: Cosmological neutrino simulations from the non-linear Boltzmann hierarchy

In this paper the non-linear effect of massive neutrinos on cosmological structures is studied in a conceptually new way. We have solved the non-linear continuity and Euler equations for the neutrinos on a grid in real space in $N$-body simulations, and closed the Boltzmann hierarchy at the non-linear Euler equation using the stress and pressure perturbations from linear theory. By comparing with state-of-the art cosmological neutrino simulations, we are able to simulate the non-linear neutrino power spectrum very accurately. This translates into a negligible error in the matter power spectrum, and so our $\scriptstyle{\rm CO}N{\rm CEPT}$ code is ideally suited for extracting the neutrino mass from future high precision non-linear observational probes such as Euclid.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2021

Updated constraints on decaying cold dark matter

In this paper we update the constraints on the simple decaying cold dark matter (DCDM) model with dark radiation (DR) as decay product. We consider two different regimes of the lifetime, i.e. short-lived and long-lived, and use the most recent CMB data from Planck (2018) to infer new constraints on the decay parameters with which we compare the constraints inferred by the previous Planck data (2015). We hereby show that the newest CMB data constrains the fractional amount of DCDM twice as much as the previous data in the long-lived regime, leading to our current best 2$σ$ upper bound of $f_{\rm dcdm}<2.44\%$. In the short-lived regime, we get a slightly looser 2$σ$ upper bound of $f_{\rm dcdm}<13.1\%$ compared to the previous CMB data. If we include Baryonic Acoustic Oscillations data from BOSS DR-12, the constraints in both the long-lived and the short-lived regimes relax to $f_{\rm dcdm}<2.62\%$ and $f_{\rm dcdm}<1.49\%$, respectively. We also investigate how this model impacts the Hubble and $σ_8$ tensions, and we find that each of the decay regimes can slightly relieve a different one of the tensions. The model can thus not accommodate both tensions at once, and the improvements on each are not significant. We furthermore improve on previous work by thoroughly analysing the impacts of short-lived DCDM on the radiation density and deriving a mapping between short-lived DCDM and a correction, $ΔN_{\rm eff}$, to the effective number of massless neutrino species.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2021

Invisible neutrino decay in precision cosmology

We revisit the topic of invisible neutrino decay in the precision cosmological context, via a first-principles approach to understanding the cosmic microwave background and large-scale structure phenomenology of such a non-standard physics scenario. Assuming an effective Lagrangian in which a heavier standard-model neutrino $ν_H$ couples to a lighter one $ν_l$ and a massless scalar particle $ϕ$ via a Yukawa interaction, we derive from first principles the complete set of Boltzmann equations, at both the spatially homogeneous and the first-order inhomogeneous levels, for the phase space densities of $ν_H$, $ν_l$, and $ϕ$ in the presence of the relevant decay and inverse decay processes. With this set of equations in hand, we perform a critical survey of recent works on cosmological invisible neutrino decay in both limits of decay while $ν_H$ is ultra-relativistic and non-relativistic. Our two main findings are: (i) in the non-relativistic limit, the effective equations of motion used to describe perturbations in the neutrino--scalar system in the existing literature formally violate momentum conservation and gauge invariance, and (ii) in the ultra-relativistic limit, exponential damping of the anisotropic stress does not occur at the commonly-used rate $Γ_{\rm T} =(1/τ_0) (m_{νH}/E_{νH})^3$, but at a rate $\sim (1/τ_0) (m_{νH}/E_{νH})^5$. Both results are model-independent. The impact of the former finding on the cosmology of invisible neutrino decay is likely small. The latter, however, implies a significant revision of the cosmological limit on the neutrino lifetime $τ_0$ from $τ_0^{\rm old} \gtrsim 1.2 \times 10^9\, {\rm s}\, (m_{νH}/50\, {\rm meV})^3$ to $τ_0 \gtrsim (4 \times 10^5 \to 4 \times 10^6)\, {\rm s}\, (m_{νH}/50 \, {\rm meV})^5$.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2021

Updated constraints on massive neutrino self-interactions from cosmology in light of the $H_0$ tension

We have updated the constraints on flavour universal neutrino self-interactions mediated by a heavy scalar, in the effective 4-fermion interaction limit. We use the relaxation time approximation to modify the collisional neutrino Boltzmann equations, which is known to be very accurate for this particular scenario. Based on the latest CMB data from the Planck 2018 data release as well as auxiliary data we confirm the presence of a region in parameter space with relatively strong self-interactions which provides a better than naively expected fit. However, we also find that the most recent data, in particular high-$\ell$ polarisation data from the Planck 2018 release, disfavours this solution even though it cannot yet be excluded. Our analysis takes into account finite neutrino masses (parameterised in terms of $\sum m_ν$) and allows for a varying neutrino energy density (parameterised in terms of $N_{\rm eff}$), and we find that in all cases the neutrino mass bound inferred from cosmological data is robust against the presence of neutrino self-interactions. Finally, we also find that the strong neutrino self-interactions do not lead to a high value of $H_0$ being preferred, i.e.\ this model is not a viable solution to the current $H_0$ discrepancy.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2020

Sterile neutrino self-interactions: $H_0$ tension and short-baseline anomalies

Sterile neutrinos with a mass in the eV range have been invoked as a possible explanation of a variety of short baseline (SBL) neutrino oscillation anomalies. However, if one considers neutrino oscillations between active and sterile neutrinos, such neutrinos would have been fully thermalised in the early universe, and would be therefore in strong conflict with cosmological bounds. In this study we first update cosmological bounds on the mass and energy density of eV-scale sterile neutrinos. We then perform an updated study of a previously proposed model in which the sterile neutrino couples to a new light pseudoscalar degree of freedom. Consistently with previous analyses, we find that the model provides a good fit to all cosmological data and allows the high value of $H_0$ measured in the local universe to be consistent with measurements of the cosmic microwave background. However, new high $\ell$ polarisation data constrain the sterile neutrino mass to be less than approximately 1 eV in this scenario. Finally, we combine the cosmological bounds on the pseudoscalar model with a Bayesian inference analysis of SBL data and conclude that only a sterile mass in narrow ranges around 1 eV remains consistent with both cosmology and SBL data.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2020

Spoon or slide? The non-linear matter power spectrum in the presence of massive neutrinos

Numerical simulations of massive neutrino cosmologies consistently find a spoon-like feature in the non-linear matter power spectrum ratios of cosmological models that differ only in the neutrino mass fraction f_N. Typically, the ratio approaches unity at low wave numbers k, decreases by ~ 10 f_N at k ~ 1 h/Mpc, and turns up again at large k. Using the halo model of large-scale structure, we show that this spoon feature originates in the transition from the two-halo power spectrum to the one-halo power spectrum. The former's sensitivity to f_N rises with k, while that of the latter decreases with k. The presence of this spoon feature is robust with respect to different choices of the halo mass function and the halo density profile, and does not require any parameter tuning within the halo model. We demonstrate that a standard halo model calculation is already able to predict the depth, width, and position of this spoon as well as its evolution with redshift z with remarkable accuracy. Predictions at z >= 1 can be further improved using non-linear perturbative inputs.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2020

The full Boltzmann hierarchy for dark matter-massive neutrino interactions

The impact of dark matter-neutrino interactions on the measurement of the cosmological parameters has been investigated in the past in the context of massless neutrinos exclusively. Here we revisit the role of a neutrino-dark matter coupling in light of ongoing cosmological tensions by implementing the full Boltzmann hierarchy for three massive neutrinos. Our tightest 95% CL upper limit on the strength of the interactions, parameterized via $u_χ=\frac{σ_0}{σ_{Th}}\left(\frac{m_χ}{100 \text{GeV}}\right)^{-1}$, is $u_χ\leq3.34 \cdot 10^{-4}$, arising from a combination of Planck TTTEEE data, Planck lensing data and SDSS BAO data. This upper bound is, as expected, slightly higher than previous results for interacting massless neutrinos, due to the correction factor associated with neutrino masses. We find that these interactions significantly relax the lower bounds on the value of $σ_8$ that is inferred in the context of $Λ$CDM from the Planck data, leading to agreement within 1-2$σ$ with weak lensing estimates of $σ_8$, as those from KiDS-1000. However, the presence of these interactions barely affects the value of the Hubble constant $H_0$.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2020

What will it take to measure individual neutrino mass states using cosmology?

We study the impact of assumptions made about the neutrino mass ordering on cosmological parameter estimation with the purpose of understanding whether in the future it will be possible to infer the specific neutrino mass distribution from cosmological data. We find that although the commonly used assumption of a degenerate neutrino hierarchy is manifestly wrong and leads to changes in cosmological observables such as the cosmic microwave background and large scale structure compared to the correct (normal or inverted) neutrino hierarchy, the induced changes are so small that even with extremely optimistic assumptions about future data they will remain undetectable. We are thus able to conclude that while cosmology can probe the neutrino contribution to the cosmic energy density extremely precisely (and hence provide a detection of a non-zero total neutrino mass at high significance), it will not be possible to directly measure the individual neutrino masses.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2020

MeV-scale reheating temperature and cosmological production of light sterile neutrinos

We investigate how sterile neutrinos with a range of masses influence cosmology in MeV-scale reheating temperature scenarios. By computing the production of sterile neutrinos through the combination of mixing and scattering in the early Universe, we find that light sterile neutrinos, with masses and mixings as inferred from short-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments, are consistent with big-bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) and cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation for the reheating temperature of ${\cal O}(1)$ MeV if the parent particle responsible for reheating decays into electromagnetic components (radiative decay). In contrast, if the parent particle mainly decays into hadrons (hadronic decay), the bound from BBN becomes more stringent. In this case, the existence of the light sterile neutrinos can be cosmologically excluded, depending on the mass and the hadronic branching ratio of the parent particle.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2020

Updated results on neutrino mass and mass hierarchy from cosmology with Planck 2018 likelihoods

In this work we update the bounds on $\sum m_ν$ from latest publicly available cosmological data and likelihoods using Bayesian analysis, while explicitly considering particular neutrino mass hierarchies. In the minimal $Λ\textrm{CDM}+\sum m_ν$ model with most recent CMB data from Planck 2018 TT,TE,EE, lowE, and lensing; and BAO data from BOSS DR12, MGS, and 6dFGS, we find that at 95\% C.L. the bounds are: $\sum m_ν<0.12$ eV (degenerate), $\sum m_ν<0.15$ eV (normal), $\sum m_ν<0.17$ eV (inverted). The bounds vary across the different mass orderings due to different priors on $\sum m_ν$. Also, we find that the normal hierarchy is very mildly preferred relative to the inverted, using both minimum $χ^2$ values and Bayesian Evidence ratios. In this paper we also provide bounds on $\sum m_ν$ considering different hierarchies in various extended cosmological models: $Λ\textrm{CDM}+\sum m_ν+r$, $w\textrm{CDM}+\sum m_ν$, $w_0 w_a \textrm{CDM}+\sum m_ν$, $w_0 w_a \textrm{CDM}+\sum m_ν$ with $w(z)\geq -1$, $Λ\textrm{CDM} + \sum m_ν + Ω_k$, and $Λ\textrm{CDM} + \sum m_ν + A_{\textrm{Lens}}$. We do not find any strong evidence of normal hierarchy over inverted hierarchy in the extended models either.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2020

Fitting functions on the cheap: the relative nonlinear matter power spectrum

We propose an alternative approach to the construction of fitting functions to the nonlinear matter power spectrum extracted from $N$-body simulations based on the relative matter power spectrum $δ(k,a)$, defined as the fractional deviation in the absolute matter power spectrum produced by a target cosmology away from a reference $Λ$CDM prediction. From the computational perspective, $δ(k,a)$ is fairly insensitive to the specifics of the simulation settings, and numerical convergence at the 1%-level can be readily achieved without the need for huge computing capacity. Furthermore, $δ(k,a)$ exhibits several interesting properties that enable a piece-wise construction of the full fitting function, whereby component fitting functions are sought for single-parameter variations and then multiplied together to form the final product. Then, to obtain 1%-accurate absolute power spectrum predictions for any target cosmology only requires that the community as a whole invests in producing one single ultra-precise reference $Λ$CDM absolute power spectrum, to be combined with the fitting function to produce the desired result. To illustrate the power of this approach, we have constructed the fitting function RelFit using only five relatively inexpensive $w$CDM simulations (box length $L=256 h^{-1}$Mpc, $N=1024^3$ particles, initialised at $z_i=49$). In a 6-parameter space spanning $\{ω_m,A_s,n_s,w,ω_b,h\}$, the output relative power spectra of RelFit are consistent with the predictions of the CosmicEmu emulator to 1% or better for a wide range of cosmologies up to $k\simeq 10$/Mpc. Thus, our approach could provide an inexpensive and democratically accessible route to fulfilling the 1%-level accuracy demands of the upcoming generation of large-scale structure probes, especially in the exploration of "non-standard" or "exotic" cosmologies on nonlinear scales.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2019

MeV-scale reheating temperature and thermalization of oscillating neutrinos by radiative and hadronic decays of massive particles

From a theoretical point of view, there is a strong motivation to consider an MeV-scale reheating temperature induced by long-lived massive particles with masses around the weak scale, decaying only through gravitational interaction. In this study, we investigate lower limits on the reheating temperature imposed by big-bang nucleosynthesis assuming both radiative and hadronic decays of such massive particles. For the first time, effects of neutrino self-interactions and oscillations are taken into account in the neutrino thermalization calculations. By requiring consistency between theoretical and observational values of light element abundances, we find that the reheating temperature should conservatively be $T_{\rm RH} \gtrsim 1.8$ MeV in the case of the 100% radiative decay, and $T_{\rm RH} \gtrsim$ 4-5 MeV in the case of the 100% hadronic decays for particle masses in the range of 10 GeV to 100 TeV.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2019

Fully relativistic treatment of decaying cold dark matter in $N$-body simulations

We present $N$-body simulations in which either all, or a fraction of, the cold dark matter decays non-relativistically to a relativistic, non-interacting dark radiation component. All effects from radiation and general relativity are self-consistently included at the level of linear perturbation theory, and our simulation results therefore match those from linear Einstein-Boltzmann codes such as CLASS in the appropriate large-scale limit. We also find that standard, Newtonian $N$-body simulations adequately describe the non-linear evolution at smaller scales ($k \gtrsim 0.1 \, h/{\mathrm{Mpc}}$) in this type of model, provided that the mass of the decaying component is modified correctly, and that the background evolution is correctly treated. That is, for studies of small scales, effects from general relativity and radiation can be safely neglected.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2019

Dark energy perturbations in $N$-body simulations

We present $N$-body simulations which are fully compatible with general relativity, with dark energy consistently included at both the background and perturbation level. We test our approach for dark energy parameterised as both a fluid, and using the parameterised post-Friedmann (PPF) formalism. In most cases, dark energy is very smooth relative to dark matter so that its leading effect on structure formation is the change to the background expansion rate. This can be easily incorporated into Newtonian $N$-body simulations by changing the Friedmann equation. However, dark energy perturbations and relativistic corrections can lead to differences relative to Newtonian $N$-body simulations at the tens of percent level for scales $k < (10^{-3} \unicode{x2013} 10^{-2})\,\mathrm{Mpc}^{-1}$, and given the accuracy of upcoming large scale structure surveys such effects must be included. In this paper we will study both effects in detail and highlight the conditions under which they are important. We also show that our $N$-body simulations exactly reproduce the results of the Boltzmann solver CLASS for all scales which remain linear.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2019

Optimal prior for Bayesian inference in a constrained parameter space

Bayesian parameter inference depends on a choice of prior probability distribution for the parameters in question. The prior which makes the posterior distribution maximally sensitive to data is called the Jeffreys prior, and it is completely determined by the response of the likelihood to changes in parameters. Under the assumption that the likelihood is a Gaussian distribution, the Jeffreys prior is a constant, i.e. flat. However, if one parameter is constrained by physical considerations, the Gaussian approximation fails and the flat prior is no longer the Jeffreys prior. In this paper we compute the correct Jeffreys prior for a multivariate normal distribution constrained in one dimension, and we apply it to the sum of neutrino masses $Σm_ν$ and the tensor-to-scalar ratio $r$. We find that one-dimensional marginalised posteriors for these two parameters change considerably and that the 68% and 95% Bayesian upper limits increase by 9% and 4% respectively for $Σm_ν$ and 22% and 3% for $r$. Adding the prior to an existing chain can be done as a trivial importance sampling in the final step of the analysis proces.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2019

Future Opportunities in Accelerator-based Neutrino Physics

This document summarizes the conclusions of the Neutrino Town Meeting held at CERN in October 2018 to review the neutrino field at large with the aim of defining a strategy for accelerator-based neutrino physics in Europe. The importance of the field across its many complementary components is stressed. Recommendations are presented regarding the accelerator based neutrino physics, pertinent to the European Strategy for Particle Physics. We address in particular i) the role of CERN and its neutrino platform, ii) the importance of ancillary neutrino cross-section experiments, and iii) the capability of fixed target experiments as well as present and future high energy colliders to search for the possible manifestations of neutrino mass generation mechanisms.

hep-ex↗