The Unknowns of the Diffuse Supernova Neutrino Background Hinder New Physics Searches

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Autori principali: MacDonald, Miller, Martínez-Miravé, Pablo, Tamborra, Irene
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2024
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author MacDonald, Miller
Martínez-Miravé, Pablo
Tamborra, Irene
author_facet MacDonald, Miller
Martínez-Miravé, Pablo
Tamborra, Irene
contents Neutrinos traveling over cosmic distances are ideal probes of new physics. We leverage on the approaching detection of the diffuse supernova neutrino background (DSNB) to explore whether, if the DSNB showed departures from theoretical predictions, we could attribute such modifications to new physics unequivocally. In order to do so, we focus on visible neutrino decay. Many of the signatures from neutrino decay are degenerate with astrophysical unknowns entering the DSNB modeling. Next generation neutrino observatories, such as Hyper-Kamiokande, JUNO, as well as DUNE, will set stringent limits on a neutrino lifetime over mass ratio $τ/m \sim 10^{9}$-$10^{10}$ s eV$^{-1}$ at $90\%$ C.L., if astrophysical uncertainties and detector backgrounds were to be fully under control. However, if the lightest neutrino is almost massless and the neutrino mass ordering is normal, constraining visible decay will not be realistically possible in the coming few decades. We also assess the challenges of distinguishing among different new physics scenarios (such as visible decay, invisible decay, and quasi-Dirac neutrinos), all leading up to similar signatures in the DSNB. This work shows that the DSNB potential for probing new physics strongly depends on an improved understanding of the experimental backgrounds at next generation neutrino observatories as well as progress in the DSNB modeling.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2409_16367
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The Unknowns of the Diffuse Supernova Neutrino Background Hinder New Physics Searches
MacDonald, Miller
Martínez-Miravé, Pablo
Tamborra, Irene
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
Neutrinos traveling over cosmic distances are ideal probes of new physics. We leverage on the approaching detection of the diffuse supernova neutrino background (DSNB) to explore whether, if the DSNB showed departures from theoretical predictions, we could attribute such modifications to new physics unequivocally. In order to do so, we focus on visible neutrino decay. Many of the signatures from neutrino decay are degenerate with astrophysical unknowns entering the DSNB modeling. Next generation neutrino observatories, such as Hyper-Kamiokande, JUNO, as well as DUNE, will set stringent limits on a neutrino lifetime over mass ratio $τ/m \sim 10^{9}$-$10^{10}$ s eV$^{-1}$ at $90\%$ C.L., if astrophysical uncertainties and detector backgrounds were to be fully under control. However, if the lightest neutrino is almost massless and the neutrino mass ordering is normal, constraining visible decay will not be realistically possible in the coming few decades. We also assess the challenges of distinguishing among different new physics scenarios (such as visible decay, invisible decay, and quasi-Dirac neutrinos), all leading up to similar signatures in the DSNB. This work shows that the DSNB potential for probing new physics strongly depends on an improved understanding of the experimental backgrounds at next generation neutrino observatories as well as progress in the DSNB modeling.
title The Unknowns of the Diffuse Supernova Neutrino Background Hinder New Physics Searches
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.16367