Identification of the cosmogenic $$^{11}$$C background in large volumes of liquid scintillators with Borexino

Cosmogenic radio-nuclei are an important source of background for low-energy neutrino experiments. In Borexino, cosmogenic $$^{11}$$ 11 C decays outnumber solar pep and CNO neutrino events by about ten to one. In order to extract the flux of these two neutrino species, a highly efficient identification of this background is mandatory. We present here the details of the most consolidated strategy, used throughout Borexino solar neutrino measurements. It hinges upon finding the space-time correlations between $$^{11}$$ 11 C decays, the preceding parent muons and the accompanying neutrons. This article describes the working principles and evaluates the performance of this Three-Fold Coincidence (TFC) technique in its two current implementations: a hard-cut and a likelihood-based approach. Both show stable performances throughout Borexino Phases II (2012–2016) and III (2016–2020) data sets, with a $$^{11}$$ 11 C tagging efficiency of $$\sim 90$$ ∼ 90 % and $$\sim $$ ∼ 63–66 % of the exposure surviving the tagging. We present also a novel technique that targets specifically $$^{11}$$ 11 C produced in high-multiplicity during major spallation events. Such $$^{11}$$ 11 C appear as a burst of events, whose space-time correlation can be exploited. Burst identification can be combined with the TFC to obtain about the same tagging efficiency of $$\sim 90\%$$ ∼ 90 % but with a higher fraction of the exposure surviving, in the range of $$\sim $$ ∼ 66–68 %.

Segmentation of EM showers for neutrino experiments with deep graph neural networks

We introduce a first-ever algorithm for the reconstruction of multiple showers from the data collected with electromagnetic (EM) sampling calorimeters. Such detectors are widely used in High Energy Physics to measure the energy and kinematics of in-going particles. In this work, we consider the case when many electrons pass through an Emulsion Cloud Chamber (ECC) brick, initiating electron-induced electromagnetic showers, which can be the case with long exposure times or large input particle flux. For example, SHiP experiment is planning to use emulsion detectors for dark matter search and neutrino physics investigation. The expected full flux of SHiP experiment is about 1020 particles over five years. To reduce the cost of the experiment associated with the replacement of the ECC brick and off-line data taking (emulsion scanning), it is decided to increase exposure time. Thus, we expect to observe a lot of overlapping showers, which turn EM showers reconstruction into a challenging point cloud segmentation problem. Our reconstruction pipeline consists of a Graph Neural Network that predicts an adjacency matrix and a clustering algorithm. We propose a new layer type (EmulsionConv) that takes into account geometrical properties of shower development in ECC brick. For the clustering of overlapping showers, we use a modified hierarchical density-based clustering algorithm. Our method does not use any prior information about the incoming particles and identifies up to 87% of electromagnetic showers in emulsion detectors. The achieved energy resolution over 16,577 showers is σE/E = (0.095 ± 0.005) + (0.134 ± 0.011)/√(E). The main test bench for the algorithm for reconstructing electromagnetic showers is going to be SND@LHC.

Demonstrating a single-block 3D-segmented plastic-scintillator detector

Three-dimensional finely grained plastic scintillator detectors bring many advantages in particle detectors, allowing a massive active target which enables a high-precision tracking of interaction products, excellent calorimetry and a sub-nanosecond time resolution. Whilst such detectors can be scaled up to several-tonnes, as required by future neutrino experiments, a relatively long production time, where each single plastic-scintillator element is independently manufactured and machined, together with potential challenges in the assembly, complicates their realisation. In this manuscript we propose a novel design for 3D granular scintillator detectors where O(1 cm3) cubes are efficiently glued in a single block of scintillator after being produced via cast polymerization, which can enable rapid and cost-efficient detector construction. This work could become particularly relevant for the detectors of the next-generation long-baseline neutrino-oscillation experiments, such as DUNE, Hyper-Kamiokande and ESSnuSB.

NuFIT: Three-Flavour Global Analyses of Neutrino Oscillation Experiments

In this contribution, we summarise the determination of neutrino masses and mixing arising from global analysis of data from atmospheric, solar, reactor, and accelerator neutrino experiments performed in the framework of three-neutrino mixing and obtained in the context of the NuFIT collaboration. Apart from presenting the latest status as of autumn 2021, we discuss the evolution of global-fit results over the last 10 years, and mention various pending issues (and their resolution) that occurred during that period in the global analyses.

Semi-leptonic three-body proton decay modes from light-cone sum rules

Using light-cone sum rule techniques, we estimate the form factors which parametrise the hadronic matrix elements that are relevant for semi-leptonic three-body proton decays. The obtained form factors allow us to determine the differential rate for the decay of a proton (p) into a positron (e+), a neutral pion (π0) and a graviton (G), which is the leading proton decay channel in the effective theory of gravitons and Standard Model particles (GRSMEFT). The sensitivity of existing and next-generation neutrino experiments in detecting the p → e+π0G signature is studied and the phenomenological implications of our computations for constraints on the effective mass scale that suppresses the relevant baryon-number violating GRSMEFT operator are discussed.

Aspects of high scale leptogenesis with low-energy leptonic CP violation

Using the density matrix equations (DME) for high scale leptogenesis based on the type I seesaw mechanism, in which the CP violation (CPV) is provided by the low-energy Dirac or/and Majorana phases of the neutrino mixing (PMNS) matrix, we investigate the 1-to-2 and the 2-to-3 flavour regime transitions, where the 1, 2 and 3 leptogenesis flavour regimes in the generation of the baryon asymmetry of the Universe ηB are described by the Boltzmann equations. Concentrating on the 1-to-2 flavour transition we determine the general conditions under which ηB goes through zero and changes sign in the transition. Analysing in detail the behaviour of ηB in the transition in the case of two heavy Majorana neutrinos N1,2 with hierarchical masses, M1 ≪ M2, we find, in particular, that i) the Boltzmann equations in many cases fail to describe correctly the generation of ηB in the 1, 2 and 3 flavour regimes, ii) the 2-flavour regime can persist above (below) ∼ 1012 GeV (∼ 109 GeV), iii) the flavour effects in leptogenesis persist beyond the typically considered maximal for these effects leptogenesis scale of 1012 GeV. We further determine the minimal scale M1min at which we can have successful leptogenesis when the CPV is provided only by the Dirac or Majorana phases of the PMNS matrix as well as the ranges of scales and values of the phases for having successful leptogenesis. We show, in particular, that when the CPV is due to the Dirac phase δ, there is a direct relation between the sign of sin δ and the sign of ηB in the regions of viable leptogenesis in the case of normal hierarchical light neutrino mass spectrum; for the inverted hierarchical spectrum the same result holds for M1 ≲ 1013 GeV. The considered different scenarios of leptogenesis are testable and falsifiable in low-energy neutrino experiments.

Feebly-interacting particles: FIPs 2020 workshop report

With the establishment and maturation of the experimental programs searching for new physics with sizeable couplings at the LHC, there is an increasing interest in the broader particle and astrophysics community for exploring the physics of light and feebly-interacting particles as a paradigm complementary to a New Physics sector at the TeV scale and beyond. FIPs 2020 has been the first workshop fully dedicated to the physics of feebly-interacting particles and was held virtually from 31 August to 4 September 2020. The workshop has gathered together experts from collider, beam dump, fixed target experiments, as well as from astrophysics, axions/ALPs searches, current/future neutrino experiments, and dark matter direct detection communities to discuss progress in experimental searches and underlying theory models for FIPs physics, and to enhance the cross-fertilisation across different fields. FIPs 2020 has been complemented by the topical workshop “Physics Beyond Colliders meets theory”, held at CERN from 7 June to 9 June 2020. This document presents the summary of the talks presented at the workshops and the outcome of the subsequent discussions held immediately after. It aims to provide a clear picture of this blooming field and proposes a few recommendations for the next round of experimental results.

Understanding Neutrino Oscillations with Particle Accelerator Experiments

Matter-dominant universe cannot be explained with the Standard Model. In order to understand why the current universe mainly consists of matter particles, scientists turned their attention to neutrino oscillations, and conducted research on the properties of the particle and its potential relationship with the matter-antimatter asymmetry observed in the universe. In this research, the probability function of a neutrino oscillation was studied for 2-neutrino case to understand neutrino oscillation in particle accelerator experiments. For a more practical study, the neutrino oscillation probability function was calculated for two neutrino experiments and was used to verify neutrino detector positions and calculated ∆m2 which is mass difference between oscillating two different neutrinos. From this work, it was understood that detectors are located at positions with the highest probability for detecting neutrino oscillations, and it was also confirmed that neutrino were oscillating from muon neutrinos to electron neutrinos in particle accelerator experiments.