Alessandro Mirizzi

Large underground, liquid based detectors for astro-particle physics in Europe: Scientific case and prospects

This document reports on a series of experimental and theoretical studies conducted to assess the astro-particle physics potential of three future large scale particle detectors proposed in Europe as next generation underground observatories. The proposed apparatuses employ three different and, to some extent, complementary detection techniques: GLACIER (liquid argon TPC), LENA (liquid scintillator) and MEMPHYS (water Cherenkov), based on the use of large mass of liquids as active detection media. The results of these studies are presented along with a critical discussion of the performance attainable by the three proposed approaches coupled to existing or planned underground laboratories, in relation to open and outstanding physics issues such as the search for matter instability, the detection of astrophysical neutrinos and geo-neutrinos and to the possible use of these detectors in future high intensity neutrino beams.

Role of dense matter in collective supernova neutrino transformations

For neutrinos streaming from a supernova core, dense matter suppresses self-induced flavor transformations if the electron density n{sub e} significantly exceeds the neutrino density n{sub {nu}} in the conversion region. If n{sub e} is comparable to n{sub {nu}}, one finds multiangle decoherence, whereas the standard self-induced transformation behavior requires that in the transformation region n{sub {nu}} is safely above n{sub e}. This condition need not be satisfied in the early phase after the supernova core bounce. Our new multiangle effect is a subtle consequence of neutrinos traveling on different trajectories when streaming from a source that is not pointlike.

Revisiting the bound on axion-photon coupling from globular clusters.

We derive a strong bound on the axion-photon coupling g(aγ) from the analysis of a sample of 39 Galactic Globular Clusters. As recognized long ago, the R parameter, i.e., the number ratio of stars in horizontal over red giant branch of old stellar clusters, would be reduced by the axion production from photon conversions occurring in stellar cores. In this regard, we have compared the measured R with state-of-the-art stellar models obtained under different assumptions for g(aγ). We show that the estimated value of g(aγ) substantially depends on the adopted He mass fraction Y, an effect often neglected in previous investigations. Taking as a benchmark for our study the most recent determinations of the He abundance in H ii regions with O/H in the same range of the Galactic Globular Clusters, we obtain an upper bound g(aγ)<0.66×10(-10)  GeV(-1) at 95% confidence level. This result significantly improves the constraints from previous analyses and is currently the strongest limit on the axion-photon coupling in a wide mass range.

Supernova Neutrinos: Production, Oscillations and Detection

Neutrinos play a crucial role in the collapse and explosion of massive stars, governing the infall dynamics of the stellar core, triggering and fueling the explosion and driving the cooling and deleptonization of the newly formed neutron star. Due to their role neutrinos carry information from the heart of the explosion and, due to their weakly interacting nature, offer the only direct probe of the dynamics and thermodynamics at the center of a supernova. In this paper, we review the present status of modelling the neutrino physics and signal formation in collapsing and exploding stars. We assess the capability of current and planned large underground neutrino detectors to yield faithful information of the time and flavor dependent neutrino signal from a future Galactic supernova. We show how the observable neutrino burst would provide a benchmark for fundamental supernova physics with unprecedented richness of detail. Exploiting the treasure of the measured neutrino events requires a careful discrimination of source-generated properties from signal features that originate on the way to the detector. As for the latter, we discuss self-induced flavor conversions associated with neutrino-neutrino interactions that occur in the deepest stellar regions; matter effects that modify the pattern of flavor conversions in the dynamical stellar envelope; neutrino-oscillation signatures that result from structural features associated with the shock-wave propagation as well as turbulent mass motions in post-shock layers. Finally, we highlight our current understanding of the formation of the diffuse supernova neutrino background and we analyse the perspectives for a detection of this relic signal that integrates the contributions from all past core-collapse supernovae in the Universe.

Neutrino and axion hot dark matter bounds after WMAP-7

We update cosmological hot dark matter constraints on neutrinos and hadronic axions. Our most restrictive limits use 7-year data from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe for the cosmic microwave background anisotropies, the halo power spectrum (HPS) from the 7th data release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, and the Hubble constant from Hubble Space Telescope observations. We find 95% C.L. upper limits of \sum m_\nu<0.44 eV (no axions), m_a<0.91 eV (assuming \sum m_\nu=0), and \sum m_\nu<0.41 eV and m_a<0.72 eV for two hot dark matter components after marginalising over the respective other mass. CMB data alone yield \sum m_\nu<1.19 eV (no axions), while for axions the HPS is crucial for deriving m_a constraints. This difference can be traced to the fact that for a given hot dark matter fraction axions are much more massive than neutrinos.

Revisiting the SN1987A gamma-ray limit on ultralight axion-like particles

We revise the bound from the supernova SN1987A on the coupling of ultralight axion-like particles (ALPs) to photons. In a core-collapse supernova, ALPs would be emitted via the Primakoff process, and eventually convert into gamma rays in the magnetic field of the Milky Way. The lack of a gamma-ray signal in the GRS instrument of the SMM satellite in coincidence with the observation of the neutrinos emitted from SN1987A therefore provides a strong bound on their coupling to photons. Due to the large uncertainty associated with the current bound, we revise this argument, based on state-of-the-art physical inputs both for the supernova models and for the Milky-Way magnetic field. Furthermore, we provide major amendments, such as the consistent treatment of nucleon-degeneracy effects and of the reduction of the nuclear masses in the hot and dense nuclear medium of the supernova. With these improvements, we obtain a new upper limit on the photon-ALP coupling: gaγ 5.3 × 10-12 GeV-1, for ma 4.4 × 10-10 eV, and we also give its dependence at larger ALP masses ma. Moreover, we discuss how much the Fermi-LAT satellite experiment could improve this bound, should a close-enough supernova explode in the near future.

Microwave background constraints on mixing of photons with hidden photons

Various extensions of the Standard Model predict the existence of hidden photons kinetically mixing with the ordinary photon. This mixing leads to oscillations between photons and hidden photons, analogous to the observed oscillations between different neutrino flavors. In this context, we derive new bounds on the photon-hidden photon mixing parameters using the high precision cosmic microwave background spectral data collected by the Far Infrared Absolute Spectrophotometer instrument on board of the Cosmic Background Explorer. Requiring the distortions of the CMB induced by the photon-hidden photon mixing to be smaller than experimental upper limits, this leads to a bound on the mixing angle χ0 10−7−10−5 for hidden photon masses between 10−14 eV and 10−7 eV. This low-mass and low-mixing region of the hidden photon parameter space was previously unconstrained.

A new cosmological mass limit on thermal relic axions

Observations of the cosmological large-scale structure provide well- established neutrino mass limits. We extend this argument to thermal relic axions. We calculate the axion thermal freeze-out temperature and thus their cosmological abundance on the basis of their interaction with pions. For hadronic axions we find a new mass limit ma 5.7 × 10 6 GeV. For other models this constraint is significantly weakened only if the axion-pion coupling is strongly suppressed. For comparison we note that the same approach leads to mν < 0.65 eV (95% CL) for neutrinos.Observations of the cosmological large-scale structure provide well-established neutrino mass limits. We extend this argument to thermal relic axions. We calculate the axion thermal freeze-out temperature and thus their cosmological abundance on the basis of their interaction with pions. For hadronic axions we find a new mass limit

The strongest bounds on active-sterile neutrino mixing after Planck data☆

m_a<1.05

Signatures of axion-like particles in the spectra of TeV gamma-ray sources

eV (95% CL), corresponding to a limit on the axion decay constant of