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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2011

TIME-INTEGRATED SEARCHES FOR POINT-LIKE SOURCES OF NEUTRINOS WITH THE 40-STRING IceCube DETECTOR

We present the results of time-integrated searches for astrophysical neutrino sources in both the northern and southern skies. Data were collected using the partially completed IceCube detector in the 40-string configuration recorded between 2008 April 5 and 2009 May 20, totaling 375.5 days livetime. An unbinned maximum likelihood ratio method is used to search for astrophysical signals. The data sample contains 36,900 events: 14,121 from the northern sky, mostly muons induced by atmospheric neutrinos, and 22,779 from the southern sky, mostly high-energy atmospheric muons. The analysis includes searches for individual point sources and stacked searches for sources in a common class, sometimes including a spatial extent. While this analysis is sensitive to TeV-PeV energy neutrinos in the northern sky, it is primarily sensitive to neutrinos with energy greater than about 1 PeV in the southern sky. No evidence for a signal is found in any of the searches. Limits are set for neutrino fluxes from astrophysical sources over the entire sky and compared to predictions. The sensitivity is at least a factor of two better than previous searches (depending on declination), with 90% confidence level muon neutrino flux upper limits being between E {sup 2} d{Phi}/dE {approx} 2-200 x 10{sup -12} TeV cm{sup -2} s{sup -1} in the northern sky and between 3-700 x 10{sup -12} TeV cm{sup -2} s{sup -1} in the southern sky. The stacked source searches provide the best limits to specific source classes. The full IceCube detector is expected to improve the sensitivity to d{Phi}/dE{proportional_to}E {sup -2} sources by another factor of two in the first year of operation.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2017

Neutrinos from type Ia supernovae: The gravitationally confined detonation scenario

Despite their use as cosmological distance indicators and their importance in the chemical evolution of galaxies, the unequivocal identification of the progenitor systems and explosion mechanism of normal type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) remains elusive. The leading hypothesis is that such a supernova is a thermonuclear explosion of a carbon-oxygen white dwarf, but the exact explosion mechanism is still a matter of debate. Observation of a galactic SN Ia would be of immense value in answering the many open questions related to these events. One potentially useful source of information about the explosion mechanism and progenitor is the neutrino signal because the neutrinos from the different mechanisms possess distinct spectra as a function of time and energy. Here in this paper, we compute the expected neutrino signal from a gravitationally confined detonation (GCD) explosion scenario for a SN Ia and show how the flux at Earth contains features in time and energy unique to this scenario. We then calculate the expected event rates in the Super-K, Hyper-K, JUNO, DUNE, and IceCube detectors and find both Hyper-K and IceCube will see a few events for a GCD supernova at 1 kpc or closer, while Super-K, JUNO, and DUNE will see events if the supernova is closer than ~0.3 kpc. The distance and detector criteria needed to resolve the time and spectral features arising from the explosion mechanism, neutrino production, and neutrino oscillation processes are also discussed. The neutrino signal from the GCD is then compared with the signal from a deflagration-to-detonation transition (DDT) explosion model computed previously. We find the overall event rate is the most discriminating feature between the two scenarios followed by the event rate time structure. Using the event rate in the Hyper-K detector alone, the DDT can be distinguished from the GCD at 2σ if the distance to the supernova is less than 2.3 kpc for a normal mass ordering and 3.6 kpc for an inverted ordering.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2011

A Search for Neutrino Induced Coherent NC($\pi^{0}$) Production in the MINOS Near Detector

The production of single, highly forward π 0 mesons by NC coherent neutrino-nucleus interactions (ν μ + N → ν μ + N + π 0 ) is a process which probes fundamental aspects of the weak interaction. This reaction may also pose as a limiting background for long baseline searches for ν μ → ν e oscillations if the neutrino mixing angle θ 13 is very small. The high-statistics sample of neutrino interactions recorded by the MINOS Near Detector provides an opportunity to measure the cross section of this coherent reaction on a relatively large-A nucleus at an average E v = 4.9 GeV. A major challenge for this measurement is the isolation of forward-going electromagnetic (EM) showers produced by the relatively rare coherent NC(π 0 ) process amidst an abundant rate of incoherently produced EM showers. The backgrounds arise from single π 0 dominated NC events and also from quasi-elastic-like CC scattering of electron neutrinos. In this Thesis the theory of coherent interactions is summarized, and previous measurements of the coherent NC(π 0 ) cross section are reviewed. Then, methods for selecting a sample of coherent NC(π 0 ) like events, extracting the coherent NC(π 0 ) event rate from that sample, estimating the analysis uncertainties, and calculating a cross section, are presented. A signal for neutrino-induced NC(π 0 ) production is observed in the relevant kinematic regime as an excess of events of three standard deviations above background. The reaction cross sections, averaged over an energy window of 2.5 ≤ E v ≤ 9.0 GeV is determined to be (31.6±10.5) x 10 -40 cm 2 /nucleus. The result is the first evidence obtained for neutrino-nucleus coherent NC(π 0 ) scattering on iron, and is the first measurement on an average nuclear target above A = 30. The cross section measurement is in agreement with NEUGEN3 implementation of the model by Rein and Sehgal which is motived by the PCAC hypothesis.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Neutrinoless double beta decay rates in the presence of light sterile neutrinos

We investigate neutrinoless double-beta decay (0νββ) in minimal extensions of the Standard Model of particle physics where gauge-singlet right-handed neutrinos give rise to Dirac and Majorana neutrino mass terms. We argue that the standard treatment of these scenarios, based on mass-dependent nuclear matrix elements, is missing important contributions to the 0νββ amplitude. First, new effects arise from the exchange of neutrinos with very small (ultrasoft) momenta, for which we compute the associated nuclear matrix elements for the decays of 76 Ge and 136 Xe. These contributions can dominate the 0νββ rate in cases with light sterile neutrinos. The ultrasoft terms are also relevant in the more standard scenario of just three light Majorana neutrinos where they lead to a 10% reduction of the total 0νββ amplitude. Secondly, we highlight the importance of short-range terms associated with medium-heavy sterile neutrinos and provide explicit formulae that can be used in phenomenological analyses. As examples we discuss impact of these new effects in several explicit scenarios, including a realistic 3 + 2 model with two right-handed gauge-singlet neutrinos.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Leptogenesis in the Neutrino Option

We examine the compatibility between the Neutrino Option, in which the electroweak scale is generated by PeV mass type I seesaw Majorana neutrinos, and leptogenesis. We find the Neutrino Option is consistent with resonant leptogenesis. Working within the minimal seesaw scenario with two heavy Majorana neutrinos N 1, 2 , which form a pseudo-Dirac pair, we explore the viable parameter space. We find that the Neutrino Option and successful leptogenesis are compatible in the cases of a neutrino mass spectrum with normal (inverted) ordering for 1.2 × 10 6 < M (GeV) < 8.8 × 10 6 (2.4 × 10 6 < M (GeV) < 7.4 × 10 6 ), with M = ( M 1 + M 2 )/2 and M 1, 2 the masses of N 1, 2 . Successful leptogenesis requires that ΔM/M ≡ ( M 2 - M 1 )/ M ~10 -8 . We further show that leptogenesis can produce the baryon asymmetry of the Universe within the Neutrino Option scenario when the requisite CP violation in leptogenesis is provided exclusively by the Dirac or Majorana low energy CP violation phases of the PMNS matrix.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Cornering (quasi) degenerate neutrinos with cosmology

In light of the improved sensitivities of cosmological observations, we examine the status of quasi-degenerate neutrino mass scenarios. Within the simplest extension of the standard cosmological model with massive neutrinos, we find that quasi-degenerate neutrinos are severely constrained by present cosmological data and neutrino oscillation experiments. We find that Planck 2018 observations of cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies disfavour quasi-degenerate neutrino masses at 2.4 Gaussian >σ’s, while adding baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) data brings the rejection to 5.9 σ’s. The highest statistical significance with which one would be able to rule out quasi-degeneracy would arise if the sum of neutrino masses is Σm v = 60 meV (the minimum allowed by neutrino oscillation experiments); indeed a sensitivity of 15 meV, as expected from a combination of future cosmological probes, would further improve the rejection level up to 17σ. We discuss the robustness of these projections with respect to assumptions on the underlying cosmological model, and also compare them with bounds from β decay endpoint and neutrinoless double beta decay studies.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Capabilities of long-baseline experiments in the presence of a sterile neutrino

Assuming that there is a sterile neutrino, we ask what then is the ability of long-baseline experiments to i) establish that neutrino oscillation violates CP, ii) determine the three-neutrino mass ordering, and iii) determine which CP-violating phase or phases are the cause of any CP violation that may be observed. We find that the ability to establish CP violation and to determine the mass ordering could be very substantial. However, the effects of the sterile neutrino could be quite large, and it might prove very difficult to determine which phase is responsible for an observed CP violation. We explain why a sterile neutrino changes the long-baseline sensitivities to CP violation and to the mass ordering in the ways that it does. We note that long-baseline experiments can probe the presence of sterile neutrinos in a way that is different from, and complementary to, the probes of short-baseline experiments. As a result, we explore the question of how large sterile-active mixing angles need to be before long-baseline experiments can detect their effects, or how small they need to be before the interpretation of these experiments can safely disregard the possible existence of sterile neutrinos.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Neutrinos below 100 TeV from the southern sky employing refined veto techniques to IceCube data

Many Galactic sources of gamma rays, such as supernova remnants, are expected to produce neutrinos with a typical energy cutoff well below 100 TeV. For the IceCube Neutrino Observatory located at the South Pole, the southern sky, containing the inner part of the Galactic plane and the Galactic Center, is a particularly challenging region at these energies, because of the large background of atmospheric muons. In this paper, we present recent advancements in data selection strategies for track-like muon neutrino events with energies below 100 TeV from the southern sky. The strategies utilize the outer detector regions as veto and features of the signal pattern to reduce the background of atmospheric muons to a level which, for the first time, allows IceCube searching for point-like sources of neutrinos in the southern sky at energies between 100 GeV and several TeV in the muon neutrino charged current channel. We report no significant clustering of neutrinos above background expectation was observed in four years of data recorded with the completed IceCube detector. Upper limits on the neutrino flux for a number of spectral hypotheses are reported for a list of astrophysical objects in the southern hemisphere.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Optimization of the magnetic horn for the nuSTORM non-conventional neutrino beam using the genetic algorithm

This paper describes the strategy for optimizing the magnetic horn for the neutrinos from STORed Muons (nuSTORM) facility. The nuSTORM magnetic horn is the primary collection device for the secondary particles generated by bombarding a solid target with 120 GeV protons. As a consequence of the non-conventional beamline designed for nuSTORM, the requirements on the horn are different from those for a conventional neutrino beamline. At nuSTORM, muons decay while circulating in the storage ring, and the detectors are placed downstream of the production straight so as to be exposed to the neutrinos from muon decay. nuSTORM aims at precisely measuring the neutrino cross sections, and providing a definitive statement about the existence of sterile neutrinos. The nuSTORM horn aims at focusing the pions into a certain phase space so that more muons from pion decay can be accepted by the decay ring. The paper demonstrates a numerical method that was developed to optimize the horn design to gain higher neutrino flux from the circulating muons. A Genetic Algorithm (GA) was applied to the simultaneous optimization of the two objectives in this study. In conclusion, the application of the technique discussed in this paper is not limited to either the nuSTORM facility or muon based facilities, but can be used for other neutrino facilities that use magnetic horns as collection devices.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Direct neutrino-mass measurement with sub-electronvolt sensitivity

Since the discovery of neutrino oscillations, we know that neutrinos have non-zero mass. However, the absolute neutrino-mass scale remains unknown. Here we report the upper limits on effective electron anti-neutrino mass, m ν , from the second physics run of the Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino experiment. In this experiment, m ν is probed via a high-precision measurement of the tritium β-decay spectrum close to its endpoint. This method is independent of any cosmological model and does not rely on assumptions whether the neutrino is a Dirac or Majorana particle. By increasing the source activity and reducing the background with respect to the first physics campaign, we reached a sensitivity on m ν –2 at a 90% confidence level (CL). The best fit to the spectral data yields m$^2_ν$ = (0.26 ± 0.34) eV 2 c –4 , resulting in an upper limit of m ν < 0.9 eV c –2 at 90% CL. By combining this result with the first neutrino-mass campaign, we find an upper limit of m ν < 0.8 eV c –2 at 90% CL.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Constraining nuclear data via cosmological observations: Neutrino energy transport and big bang nucleosynthesis

Here, we introduce a new computational capability that moves toward a self-consistent calculation of neutrino transport and nuclear reactions for big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN). Such a self-consistent approach is needed to be able to extract detailed information about nuclear reactions and physics beyond the standard model from precision cosmological observations of primordial nuclides and the cosmic microwave background radiation. We also calculate the evolution of the early universe through the epochs of weak decoupling, weak freeze-out and big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) by simultaneously coupling a full strong, electromagnetic, and weak nuclear reaction network with a multi-energy group Boltzmann neutrino energy transport scheme. The modular structure of our approach allows the dissection of the relative contributions of each process responsible for evolving the dynamics of the early universe. Such an approach allows a detailed account of the evolution of the active neutrino energy distribution functions alongside and self-consistently with the nuclear reactions and entropy/heat generation and flow between the neutrino and photon/electron/positron/baryon plasma components. Our calculations reveal nonlinear feedback in the time evolution of neutrino distribution functions and plasma thermodynamic conditions. We discuss the time development of neutrino spectral distortions and concomitant entropy production and extraction from the plasma. These effects result in changes in the computed values of the BBN deuterium and helium-4 yields that are on the order of a half-percent relative to a baseline standard BBN calculation with no neutrino transport. This is an order of magnitude larger effect than in previous estimates. For particular implementations of quantum corrections in plasma thermodynamics, our calculations show a 0.4% increase in deuterium and a 0.6% decrease in 4 He over our baseline. The magnitude of these changes are on the order of uncertainties in the nuclear physics for the case of deuterium and are potentially significant for the error budget of helium in upcoming cosmological observations.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2011

IMPACTS OF COLLECTIVE NEUTRINO OSCILLATIONS ON CORE-COLLAPSE SUPERNOVA EXPLOSIONS

By performing a series of one- and two-dimensional (1D and 2D) hydrodynamic simulations with spectral neutrino transport, we study possible impacts of collective neutrino oscillations on the dynamics of core-collapse supernovae. To model the spectral swapping, which is one of the possible outcome of the collective neutrino oscillations, we parameterize the onset time when the spectral swap begins, the radius where the spectral swap occurs, and the threshold energy above which the spectral interchange between heavy-lepton neutrinos and electron/anti-electron neutrinos takes place. By doing so, we systematically study how the neutrino heating enhanced by the spectral swapping could affect the shock evolution as well as the matter ejection. We also investigate the progenitor dependence using a suite of progenitor models (13, 15, 20, and 25 M{sub sun}). We find that there is a critical heating rate induced by the spectral swapping that triggers explosions, and which significantly differs between the progenitors. The critical heating rate is generally smaller for 2D than for 1D due to the multidimensionality that enhances the neutrino heating efficiency. For the progenitors employed in this paper, the final remnant masses are estimated to range between 1.1-1.5 M{sub sun}. For our 2D model of the 15 M{sub sun} progenitor, we find a set of oscillation parameters that could account for strong supernova explosions ({approx}10{sup 51} erg), simultaneously leaving behind a remnant mass close to {approx}1.4 M{sub sun}.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

SOLAR NEUTRINO PHYSICS: SENSITIVITY TO LIGHT DARK MATTER PARTICLES

Neutrinos are produced in several neutrino nuclear reactions of the proton-proton chain and carbon-nitrogen-oxygen cycle that take place at different radii of the Sun's core. Hence, measurements of solar neutrino fluxes provide a precise determination of the local temperature. The accumulation of non-annihilating light dark matter particles (with masses between 5 GeV and 16 GeV) in the Sun produces a change in the local solar structure, namely, a decrease in the central temperature of a few percent. This variation depends on the properties of the dark matter particles, such as the mass of the particle and its spin-independent scattering cross-section on baryon-nuclei, specifically, the scattering with helium, oxygen, and nitrogen among other heavy elements. This temperature effect can be measured in almost all solar neutrino fluxes. In particular, by comparing the neutrino fluxes generated by stellar models with current observations, namely {sup 8}B neutrino fluxes, we find that non-annihilating dark matter particles with a mass smaller than 10 GeV and a spin-independent scattering cross-section with heavy baryon-nuclei larger than 3 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -37} cm{sup -2} produce a variation in the {sup 8}B neutrino fluxes that would be in conflict with current measurements.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

UHECR ESCAPE MECHANISMS FOR PROTONS AND NEUTRONS FROM GAMMA-RAY BURSTS, AND THE COSMIC-RAY-NEUTRINO CONNECTION

The paradigm that gamma-ray burst fireballs are the sources of the ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) is being probed by neutrino observations. Very stringent bounds can be obtained from the cosmic-ray (proton)-neutrino connection, assuming that the UHECRs escape as neutrons. In this study, we identify three different regimes as a function of the fireball parameters: the standard ''one neutrino per cosmic ray'' case, the optically thick (to neutron escape) case, and the case where leakage of protons from the boundaries of the shells (direct escape) dominates. In the optically thick regime, the photomeson production is very efficient, and more neutrinos will be emitted per cosmic ray than in the standard case, whereas in the direct escape-dominated regime, more cosmic rays than neutrinos will be emitted. We demonstrate that, for efficient proton acceleration, which is required to describe the observed UHECR spectrum, the standard case only applies to a very narrow region of the fireball parameter space. We illustrate with several observed examples that conclusions on the cosmic-ray-neutrino connection will depend on the actual burst parameters. We also show that the definition of the pion production efficiency currently used by the IceCube collaboration underestimates the neutrino production in the optically thick case. Finally, we point out that the direct escape component leads to a spectral break in the cosmic-ray spectrum emitted from a single source. The resulting ''two-component model'' can be used to even more strongly pronounce the spectral features of the observed UHECR spectrum than the dip model.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Neutrino emission in the jet propagation process

Relativistic jets are universal in long-duration gamma-ray burst (GRB) models. Before breaking out, they must propagate in the progenitor envelope along with a forward shock and a reverse shock forming at the jet head. Both electrons and protons will be accelerated by the shocks. High-energy neutrinos could be produced by these protons interacting with stellar materials and electron-radiating photons. The jet will probably be collimated, which may have a strong effect on the final neutrino flux. Under the assumption of a power-law stellar-envelope density profile ρ∝r {sup –α} with index α, we calculate the neutrino emission flux by these shocks for low-luminosity GRBs (LL-GRBs) and ultra-long GRBs (UL-GRBs) in different collimation regimes, using the jet propagation framework developed by Bromberg et al. We find that LL-GRBs and UL-GRBs are capable of producing detectable high-energy neutrinos up to ∼PeV, from which the final neutrino spectrum can be obtained. Further, we conclude that a larger α corresponds to greater neutrino flux at the high-energy end (∼PeV) and to higher maximum neutrino energy as well. However, such differences are so small that it is not promising for us to be able to distinguish these in observations, given the energy resolution we have now.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

MONTE CARLO NEUTRINO TRANSPORT THROUGH REMNANT DISKS FROM NEUTRON STAR MERGERS

We present Sedonu, a new open source, steady-state, special relativistic Monte Carlo (MC) neutrino transport code, available at bitbucket.org/srichers/sedonu. The code calculates the energy- and angle-dependent neutrino distribution function on fluid backgrounds of any number of spatial dimensions, calculates the rates of change of fluid internal energy and electron fraction, and solves for the equilibrium fluid temperature and electron fraction. We apply this method to snapshots from two-dimensional simulations of accretion disks left behind by binary neutron star mergers, varying the input physics and comparing to the results obtained with a leakage scheme for the cases of a central black hole and a central hypermassive neutron star. Neutrinos are guided away from the densest regions of the disk and escape preferentially around 45° from the equatorial plane. Neutrino heating is strengthened by MC transport a few scale heights above the disk midplane near the innermost stable circular orbit, potentially leading to a stronger neutrino-driven wind. Neutrino cooling in the dense midplane of the disk is stronger when using MC transport, leading to a globally higher cooling rate by a factor of a few and a larger leptonization rate by an order of magnitude. We calculate neutrino pair annihilation rates and estimate that an energy of 2.8 × 10{sup 46} erg is deposited within 45° of the symmetry axis over 300 ms when a central BH is present. Similarly, 1.9 × 10{sup 48} erg is deposited over 3 s when an HMNS sits at the center, but neither estimate is likely to be sufficient to drive a gamma-ray burst jet.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

SUPERNOVA NEUTRINO LIGHT CURVES AND SPECTRA FOR VARIOUS PROGENITOR STARS: FROM CORE COLLAPSE TO PROTO-NEUTRON STAR COOLING

We present a new series of supernova neutrino light curves and spectra calculated by numerical simulations for a variety of progenitor stellar masses (13-50 M {sub Sun }) and metallicities (Z = 0.02 and 0.004), which would be useful for a broad range of supernova neutrino studies, e.g., simulations of future neutrino burst detection by underground detectors or theoretical predictions for the relic supernova neutrino background. To follow the evolution from the onset of collapse to 20 s after the core bounce, we combine the results of neutrino-radiation hydrodynamic simulations for the early phase and quasi-static evolutionary calculations of neutrino diffusion for the late phase, with different values of shock revival time as a parameter that should depend on the still unknown explosion mechanism. We describe the calculation methods and basic results, including the dependence on progenitor models and the shock revival time. The neutrino data are publicly available electronically.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

Neutrinos in non-linear structure formation — a simple SPH approach

We present a novel method for implementing massive neutrinos in N-body simulations. Instead of sampling the neutrino velocity distribution by individual point particles we take neutrino free-streaming into account by treating it as an effective redshift dependent sound speed in a perfect isothermal fluid, and assume a relation between the sound speed and velocity dispersion of the neutrinos. Although the method fails to accurately model the true neutrino power spectrum, it is able to calculate the total matter power spectrum to the same accuracy as more complex hybrid neutrino methods, except on very small scales. We also present an easy way to update the publicly available GADGET-2 version with this neutrino approximation.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗