We explore the possibility of generating a non-zero $U_{e3}$ element of the neutrino mixing matrix from tribimaximal neutrino mixing by adding a light sterile neutrino to the active neutrinos. Small active-sterile mixing can provide the necessary deviation from tribimaximal mixing to generate a non-zero $θ_{13}$ and atmospheric mixing $θ_{23}$ different from maximal. Assuming no CP-violation, we study the phenomenological impact of sterile neutrinos in the context of current neutrino oscillation data. The tribimaximal pattern is broken in such a manner that the second column of tribimaximal mixing remains intact in the neutrino mixing matrix.
We expound the impact of extra sterile species on the ultra high energy neutrino fluxes in neutrino telescopes. We use three types of well-known flux ratios and compare the values of these flux ratios in presence of sterile neutrinos, with those predicted by deviation from the tribimaximal mixing scheme. We show that in the upcoming neutrino telescopes, its easy to confuse between the signature of sterile neutrinos with that of the deviation from tribimaximal mixing. We also show that if the measured flux ratios acquire a value well outside the range predicted by the standard scenario with thr…
For the purpose of deriving the observed nearly tribimaximal neutrino mixing, a possible yukawaon model in the quark sector is investigated. Five observable quantities (2 up-quark mass ratios and 3 neutrino mixing parameters \sin^2 2θ_{atm}, \tan^2θ_{solar} and |U_{13}|) are excellently fitted by two parameters (one in the up-quark sector and another one in the right-handed Majorana neutrino sector).
Neutrino tribimaximal mixing is obtained from the breaking of A_4 to Z_3 in the charged-lepton sector and to Z_2 in the neutrino sector. To enforce this conflicting pattern, extra particles and symmetries are usually invoked, often accompanied by nonrenormalizable interactions and even extra dimensions. It is shown here in a specific renormalizable model how A_4 alone will accomplish this, with only the help of lepton number.
Current neutrino data are consistent with the so-called tribimaximal mixing scenario, which predicts \sin^2 θ_{12}=1/3, zero U_{e3} and maximal θ_{23}. This implies a special form of the neutrino mass matrix. Introducing small breaking terms in this mass matrix generates deviations from the tribimaximal scheme and leads to testable correlations between the parameters. They depend on where the perturbation is located in the mass matrix. A special case of such perturbations are radiative corrections. Alternative deviations from tribimaximal mixing may stem from contributions of the charged lepto…
It is pointed out that if a neutrino mass matrix for right-handed neutrinos in seesaw mechanism has mu -tau symmetry and total lepton number L_{e}+L_{μ}+L_τ remains constant (not zero), exact tribimaximal neutrino mixing in this sector is produced. The same follows for the effective Majorana light neutrino mass matrix provided that Yukawa couplings (multiplied by the corresponding Higgs vacuum expectation values) in Dirac mass matrix satisfy some constraints which in general implies zero leptongenesis asymmetry. However this can be avoided when two of the heavy right-hand neutrinos [the third …
In the context of A_4 symmetry, neutrino tribimaximal mixing is achieved through the breaking of A_4 to Z_3 (Z_2) in the charged-lepton (neutrino) sector respectively. The implied vacuum misalignment of the (1,1,1) and (1,0,0) directions in A_4 space is a difficult technical problem, and cannot be treated without many auxiliary fields and symmetries (and perhaps extra dimensions). It is pointed out here that an alternative scenario exists with A_4 alone and no redundant fields, if neutrino masses are "scotogenic", i.e. radiatively induced by dark scalar doublets as recently proposed.
Solar and atmospheric neutrino oscillations are consistent with a tribimaximal form of the mixing matrix $U$ of the lepton sector. Exact tribimaximal mixing leads to $θ_{13}=0$. Recent results from the Daya Bay and RENO experiments have established a non-zero value of $θ_{13}$. Keeping the leading behaviour of $U$ as tribimaximal we perform a model-independent perturbative calculation to incorporate a non-vanishing $θ_{13}$. We identify the nature of the perturbation matrix and consider the possibility of the solar neutrino splitting also resulting from it. We calculate up to first order in pe…
The neutrino oscillation data are in very good agreement with the tribimaximal mixing pattern: \sin^2θ_{23}=1/2, \sin^2θ_{12}=1/3, and \sin^2θ_{13}=0. Attempts to generate this pattern based on finite family symmetry groups typically assume that the family symmetry is broken to different subgroups in the charged lepton and the neutrino mass matrices. This leads to a technical problem, where the cross-couplings between the Higgs fields responsible for the two symmetry breaking chains force their vacuum expectation values to align, upsetting the desired breaking pattern. Here, we present a class…
We present a renormalizable model for fermion masses based solely on the double tetrahedral group T'. It does not include right handed neutrinos and majorana neutrino masses are generated radiatively. The scalar sector of the model involves three SU(2) doublets and a set of lepton number violating (charged) scalars needed to give mass to the neutrinos. In the quark sector the model leads to a Fritzsch type scenario that is consistent with all the existing data. In the lepton sector, the model leads to tribimaximal (and near tribimaximal) mixing, and an inverted mass hierarchy.
The approximately symmetric form of the PMNS matrix suggests that there could exist a hidden symmetry which makes the PMNS matrix different from the CKM matrix for quarks. In literature, all the proposed fully symmetric textures exhibit an explicit $μ-τ$ symmetry in addition to other symmetries which may be different for various textures. Observing obvious deviations of the practical PMNS matrix elements from those in the symmetric textures, there must be a mechanism to distort the symmetry. It might be due to existence of light sterile neutrinos. In this work, we study the case of the Tribima…
Assuming that the leptonic mixing matrix is given in first approximation by the tribimaximal form we deduce some consequences with regard to the finite symmetries that may be applied in the minimal lepton sector of the electroweak theory.
We present a model of neutrino mixing based on the flavour group $Δ(27)$ in order to account for the observation of a non-zero reactor mixing angle ($θ_{13}$). The model provides a common flavour structure for the charged-lepton and the neutrino sectors, giving their mass matrices a `circulant-plus-diagonal' form. Mass matrices of this form readily lead to mixing patterns with realistic deviations from tribimaximal mixing, including non-zero $θ_{13}$. With the parameters constrained by existing measurements, our model predicts an inverted neutrino mass hierarchy. We obtain two distinct sets of…
We present a systematic group space scan of discrete Abelian flavor symmetries for lepton mass models that produce nearly tribimaximal lepton mixing. In our models, small neutrino masses are generated by the type-I seesaw mechanism. The lepton mass matrices emerge from higher-dimension operators via the Froggatt-Nielsen mechanism and are predicted as powers of a single expansion parameter εthat is of the order of the Cabibbo angle θ_C\simeq 0.2. We focus on solutions that can give close to tribimaximal lepton mixing with a very small reactor angle θ_{13}\approx 0 and find several thousand expl…
The addition of an A_4 family symmetry and extended Higgs sector to the Standard Model can generate the tribimaximal mixing pattern for leptons, assuming the correct vacuum expectation value alignment of the Higgs scalars. Deviating this alignment affects the predictions for the neutrino oscillation and neutrino mass observables. An attempt is made to classify the plethora of models in the literature, with respect to the chosen A_4 particle assignments. Of these models, two particularly popular examples have been analyzed for deviations from tribimaximal mixing by perturbing the vacuum expecta…
In this work we analyze the corrections to tribimaximal (TBM), bimaximal (BM) and democratic (DC) mixing matrices for explaining large reactor mixing angle $θ_{13}$ and checking the consistency with other neutrino mixing angles. The corrections are parameterized in terms of small orthogonal rotations (R) with corresponding modified PMNS matrix of the form $R_{ij}\cdot U \cdot R_{kl}$ where $R_{ij}$ is rotation in ij sector and U is any one of these special matrices. We showed the rotations $R_{13}\cdot U \cdot R_{23}$, $R_{12}\cdot U \cdot R_{13}$ for BM and $R_{13}\cdot U \cdot R_{13}$ for TB…
We propose a spontaneous A_4 flavour symmetry breaking scheme to understand the observed pattern of quark and neutrino mixing. The fermion mass eigenvalues are arbitrary, but the mixing angles are constrained in such a way that the overall patterns are explained while also leaving sufficient freedom to fit the detailed features of the observed values, including CP violating phases. The scheme realises the proposal of Low and Volkas to generate zero quark mixing and tribimaximal neutrino mixing at tree-level, with deviations from both arising from small corrections after spontaneous A_4 breakin…
Based on a neutrino mass matrix model in which a 2-3 symmetry is only broken by a phase parameter, it is investigated how the lepton mixing matrix can deviate from the so-called tribimaximal mixing under a condition that CP is maximally violated.
Within the type-I seesaw framework with three heavy right chiral neutrinos and in the basis where the latter and the charged leptons are mass diagonal, a near `mu-tau' symmetry in the neutrino sector is strongly suggested by the neutrino oscillation data. There is further evidence for a close to the tribimaximal mixing pattern which subsumes `mu-tau' symmetry. On the other hand, the assumption of a (maximally allowed) four zero texture in the Yukawa coupling matrix Y_nu in the same basis leads to a highly constrained and predictive theoretical scheme. We show that the requirement of an exact `…
Active-sterile neutrino mixing is known to affect the neutrino oscillation probabilities at both short as well as long-baselines. In particular, constraints on active-sterile neutrino oscillation parameters can be obtained from long-baseline experiments such as T2HK and DUNE. We present here existence of fake solution in the appearance channel for the 3+1 scenario at long-baseline experiments. We show that the appearance probability is same for values of $Δm_{41}^2$ for which the fast oscillations are averaged out and for $Δm_{41}^2=(1/2)Δm_{31}^2$. The fake solution does not appear for the di…
New hypothetical field equations (Eqs. (1) and (2)) are further discussed, unifying Maxwell's equations of the Standard Model (after the electroweak symmetry is spontaneously broken) with the dynamics of hidden sector (expected to be responsible for the cold dark matter). The hidden sector is represented by sterile spin-1/2 Dirac fermions ("sterinos") and sterile spin-0 bosons ("sterons") whose masses are spontaneously generated by a nonzero vacuum expectation value of the steron field, while sterino and steron interactions are mediated by sterile spin-1 quanta of an antisymmetric-tensor field…
The recent results from Daya Bay and RENO reactor neutrino experiments have firmly established that the smallest reactor mixing angle $θ_{13}$ is non-vanishing at the $5 σ$ level, with a relatively large value, i.e., $θ_{13}\approx 9^{\circ}$. Using the fact that the neutrino mixing matrix can be represented as $V_{\rm PMNS}=U_l^{\dagger} U_ν P_ν$, where $U_l$ and $U_ν$ result from the diagonalization of the charged lepton and neutrino mass matrices and $P_ν$ is a diagonal matrix containing the Majorana phases and assuming the tri-bimaximal form for $U_ν$, we investigate the possibility of acc…
This thesis address theoretical and phenomenological aspects of active and sterile mixing pattern within minimal extended seesaw frameworks. It consists of six chapters, where chapters one and six are dedicated to introduction and conclusion chapters, respectively. In chapter two, we study active-sterile phenomenology with a single generation of sterile neutrino ($m_S\sim \mathcal{O}$(eV)) along with the three active neutrinos. Three independent cases for sterile mass matrices are studied in both normal and inverted hierarchy mass ordering. Chapter three is an extension of the previous chapter…
A hypothetic Hidden Sector of the Universe, consisting of sterile fermions ("sterinos") and sterile mediating bosons ("sterons") of mass dimension 1 (not 2!) - the last described by an antisymmetric tensor field - requires to exist also a scalar isovector and scalar isoscalar in order to be able to construct electroweak invariant coupling (before spontaneously breaking its symmetry).
We extend the recently proposed $SU(5) \times \mathcal{T}_{13}$ model for the asymmetric texture to the up-type quark and seesaw sectors. The hierarchical up-type quark masses are generated from higher-dimensional operators involving family-singlet Higgses, gauge-singlet familons, and vectorlike messengers. The complex-tribimaximal (TBM) seesaw mixing arises from the vacuum structure of a minimal number of familons, resulting in an alignment between the Yukawa and Majorana matrices of the seesaw formula. Introducing four right-handed neutrinos, normal ordering of the light neutrino masses is o…
Light sterile neutrinos represent a well-motivated extension of the 3-neutrino paradigm. However, the impressive agreement between standard cosmology and data casts doubts on their existence. Here we present a class of scenarios that robustly avoids this tension. In these models the sterile neutrinos are light, chiral states of a new sector interacting with the Standard Model via the right-handed neutrino portal and, crucially, active-sterile neutrino oscillations require a phase transition in the hidden sector. We explore the hidden-couplings/critical-temperature plane and identify regions wh…
We continue the discussion of a proposed model of hidden sector of the Universe, consisting of sterile spin-1/2 Dirac fermions ("sterinos"), sterile spin-0 bosons ("sterons") with spontaneously nonzero vacuum expectation value, and sterile nongauge mediating bosons ("A bosons") described by an antisymmetric-tensor field (of dimension one). The Standard-Model electromagnetic field (of dimension two) multiplied by the steron vacuum expectation value becomes in a spontaneous way a source of A-boson field mediating new weak interactions in hidden sector and providing - due to the action of electro…
The simplest way to simultaneously understand all existing indications of neutrino oscillations from solar and atmospheric neutrino deficits and the LSND experiment, seems to be to postulate a sterile neutrino. We present a realistic grand unified model based on the gauge group $SO(10)\times SO(10)^\prime$ that leads to the desired masses and mixings for the sterile and the known neutrinos needed to understand the above observations while fitting those of the known charged fermions. The model is a grand unified realization of the recently proposed idea that the sterile neutrino is the lightest…
Sterile neutrinos at the GeV scale can resolve several outstanding problems of the Standard Model (SM), such as the source of neutrino masses and the origin of the baryon asymmetry through freeze-in leptogenesis, but they can be challenging to detect experimentally due to their small couplings to SM particles. In extensions of the SM with new interactions of the sterile neutrinos, they can be produced copiously at accelerators and colliders. We systematically investigate the impact of such novel interactions on the asymmetry from freeze-in leptogenesis. We find that the interactions tend to br…
We describe more precisely the mechanism of spontaneous mass generation in the previously proposed model of hidden sector of the Universe. The hidden sector is conjectured to consist of sterile spin-1/2 fermions (sterinos) whose mass is spontaneously generated by sterile scalar bosons (sterons), while their interactions are mediated by sterile antisymmetric-tensor bosons (A bosons). Such a sector communicates with the familiar Standard Model sector through a photonic portal acting weakly between both sectors (but stronger than the universal gravity). This is due to photons which, beside sterin…
We propose the minimal supersymmetric sterile neutrino model (MSSNM) where the sterile neutrino masses are about 1 eV, while the active neutrino masses and the mixings among the active and sterile neutrinos are generated during late time phase transition. All the current experimental neutrino data include the LSND can be explained simultaneously, and the constraints on the sterile neutrinos from the big bang nucleosynthesis and large scale structure can be evaded. To realize the MSSNM naturally, we consider the supersymmetric intermediate-scale U(1)' model, the low energy U(1)' model with a se…
In a recent work, we have constructed a model of hidden sector of the Universe, consisting of sterile spin-1/2 Dirac fermions ("sterinos"), sterile spin-0 bosons ("sterons") conjectured to get spontaneously nonzero vacuum expectation value, and also of conventional photons assumed to participate both in the hidden and Standard-Model sectors (after the electroweak symmetry is spontaneously broken by the Standard-Model Higgs mechanism). This provides a "photonic portal" to the hidden sector as an alternative to the popular "Higgs portal". Moreover, we have proposed to stop the proliferation of n…
We study renormalization group running effects on neutrino mixing patterns when a (type I) seesaw model is implemented by suitable flavour symmetries. We are particularly interested in mass-independent mixing patterns to which the widely studied tribimaximal mixing pattern belongs. In this class of flavour models, the running contribution from neutrino Yukawa coupling, which is generally dominant at energies above the seesaw threshold, can be absorbed by a small shift on neutrino mass eigenvalues leaving mixing angles unchanged. Consequently, in the whole running energy range, the change in mi…
Sterile neutrino models with new gauge interactions in the sterile sector are phenomenologically interesting since they can lead to novel effects in neutrino oscillation experiments, in cosmology and in dark matter detectors, possibly even explaining some of the observed anomalies in these experiments. Here, we use data from neutrino oscillation experiments, in particular from MiniBooNE, MINOS and solar neutrino experiments, to constrain such models. We focus in particular on the case where the sterile sector gauge boson $A'$ couples also to Standard Model particles (for instance to the baryon…
To include the quark sector, the $A_{5}\equiv I$ (icosahedron) four generation lepton model is extended to a binary icosahedral symmetry $I'$ flavor model. We find the masses of fermions, including the heavy sectors, can be accommodated. At leading order the CKM matrix is the identity and the PMNS matrix, resulting from same set of vacua, corresponds to tribimaximal mixings.
We consider a scenario where the dark matter candidate is a sterile neutrino with sizable self-interactions, described by a dimension-six operator, and with negligible interactions with the Standard Model. The relic abundance is set by the freeze-out of 4-to-2 annihilations in the dark sector plasma and reproduces the observed dark matter abundance when the sterile neutrino mass is in the range $\sim 500\,{\rm keV} - 20\,\,{\rm GeV}$. The feeble interactions with the Standard Model may lead to observable signals from dark matter decay. Furthermore, the self-interactions can affect the formatio…
Maximal CP violation hypothesis is applied to a simple lepton mixing matrix form U=V_{CKM}^\dagger U_{TB}, which has recently been speculated under an ansatz that U becomes an exact tribimaximal mixing U_{TB} in a limit of the quark mixing matrix V_{CKM} \to {\bf 1}. The prediction \tan^2 θ_{12} =1/2 in the case of the exact tribimaximal mixing U=U_{TB} is onsiderably spoiled in the speculated mixing U=V_{CKM}^\dagger U_{TB}. However, the application of the hypothesis to the lepton sector can again recover the spoiled value to \tan^2 θ_{12} \simeq 1/2 if the original Kobayashi-Maskawa phase co…
A model, which extends the standard model with a new chiral U(1)$'$ gauge symmetry sector, for the eV-mass sterile neutrino is constructed. It is basically fixed by anomaly free conditions. The lightness of the sterile neutrino has a natural explanation. As a by product, this model provides a WIMP-like dark matter candidate.
We consider a Mass Varying Neutrinos (MaVaNs) model in supersymmetric theory. The model includes effects of supersymmetry breaking transmitted by the gravitational interaction from the hidden sector, in which supersymmetry was broken, to the dark energy sector. Then evolutions of the neutrino mass and the equation of state parameter of the dark energy are presented in the model. It is remarked that only the mass of a sterile neutrino is variable in the case of the vanishing mixing between the left-handed and a sterile neutrino on cosmological time scale. The finite mixing makes the mass of the…
A sterile neutrino in addition to the three known neutrinos seems unavoidable if one wants a simultaneous understanding of the results of the LSND experiment indicating $ν_μ-ν_e$ oscillation together with other evidences for neutrino oscillations such as those from solar and atmospheric neutrino deficits. A major theoretical challenge then is to understand why the sterile neutrino is so light. A simple solution appears to be to assume that it is the lightest neutrino of a mirror sector of the universe which has identical matter and gauge content as the standard model. After a brief review of t…
In this work, a flavour theory of a neutrino mass model based on $ A_{4} $ symmetry is considered to explain the phenomenology of neutrino mixing. The spontaneous symmetry breaking of $ A_{4} $ symmetry in this model leads to tribimaximal mixing in the neutrino sector at a leading order. We consider the effect of $ Z_{2} \times Z_{2}$ invariant perturbations in neutrino sector and find the allowed region of correction terms in the perturbation matrix that is consistent with 3$ σ$ ranges of the experimental values of the mixing angles. We study the entanglement of this formalism on the other ph…
We calculate the free-streaming length and the phase space density of dark-matter sterile neutrinos produced from decays, at the electroweak scale, of a gauge singlet in the Higgs sector. These quantities, which depend on the dark-matter production mechanism, are relevant to the study of small-scale structure formation and may be used to constrain or rule out dark-matter candidates.
Sterile neutrino with mass of several keV can be the cosmological dark matter, can explain the observed velocities of pulsars, and can play an important role in the formation of the first stars. We describe the production of sterile neutrinos in a model with an extended Higgs sector, in which the Majorana mass term is generated by the vacuum expectation value of a gauge-singlet Higgs boson. In this model the relic abundance of sterile neutrinos does not necessarily depend on their mixing angles, the free-streaming length can be much smaller than in the case of warm dark matter produced by neut…
In this paper, we consider a neutrino mass model based on $A_4$ symmetry. The spontaneous symmetry breaking in this model is chosen to obtain tribimaximal mixing in the neutrino sector. We introduce $Z_2 \times Z_2$ invariant perturbations in this model which can give rise to acceptable values of $θ_{13}$ and $δ_{CP}$. Perturbation in the charged lepton sector alone can lead to viable values of $θ_{13}$, but cannot generate $δ_{CP}$. Perturbation in the neutrino sector alone can lead to acceptable $θ_{13}$ and maximal CP violation. By adjusting the magnitudes of perturbations in both sectors, …
The MiniBooNE low-energy excess is a longstanding problem which has received further confirmation recently with a reanalysis using newly collected data, with the anomaly now at the $4.8σ$ level. In this letter we propose a novel explanation which advocates a low-energy sector containing $Z^\prime$ bosons with GeV-scale masses and sterile neutrinos with masses around $100$-$500$ MeV. We show that this scenario can provide an excellent spectral agreement with the MiniBooNE low-energy excess in the form of $Z^\prime$-mediated neutral current production of heavy sterile states, a fraction of whose…
We scrutinize corrections to tribimaximal (TBM), bimaximal (BM) and democratic (DC) mixing matrices for explaining recent global fit neutrino mixing data. These corrections are parameterized in terms of small orthogonal rotations (R) with corresponding modified PMNS matrices of the forms \big($R_{ij}^l\cdot U,~U\cdot R_{ij}^r,~U \cdot R_{ij}^r \cdot R_{kl}^r,~R_{ij}^l \cdot R_{kl}^l \cdot U$\big ) where $R_{ij}^{l, r}$ is rotation in ij sector and U is any one of these special matrices. We showed that for perturbative schemes dictated by single rotation, only \big($ R_{12}^l\cdot U_{BM},~R_{13…
The MiniBooNE collaboration recently released a report claiming have observed an excess of electron and anti-electron neutrino with significance of $4.8 \, σ$ C.L. corroborating, in this way, the long-standing LSND anomaly. Combined LSND and MiniBooNE analysis reach a significance of $6.0\, σ$ C.L. Such a result, if confirmed by future experiments, will cause considerable impact on particle physics since that such anomalies, when interpreted in terms of neutrino oscillation, require the existence of at least one light sterile neutrino. It happens that, on according to standard scenarios, such …
We study constraints from Big Bang Nucleosynthesis on inert particles in a dark sector which contribute to the Hubble rate and therefore change the predictions of the primordial nuclear abundances. We pay special attention to the case of MeV-scale particles decaying into dark radiation, which are neither fully relativistic nor non-relativistic during all temperatures relevant to Big Bang Nucleosynthesis. As an application we discuss the implications of our general results for models of self-interacting dark matter with light mediators.
We consider an electroweak model based on the gauge symmetry SU(2)_L X U(1)_Y' X U(1)_B-L which has right-handed neutrinos with different exotic B-L quantum numbers. Because of this particular feature we are able to write Yukawa terms, and right-handed neutrino mass terms, with scalar fields that can develop vacuum expectation values belonging to different energy scales. We make a detailed study of the scalar and the Yukawa neutrino sectors to show that this model is compatible with the observed solar and atmospheric neutrino mass scales and the tribimaximal mixing matrix.We also show that the…
Harrison, Perkins and Scott have proposed simple charged lepton and neutrino mass matrices that lead to the tribimaximal mixing $U_{\rm TBM}$. We consider in this work an extension of the mass matrices so that the leptonic mixing matrix becomes $U_{\rm PMNS}=V_L^{\ell\dagger}U_{\rm TBM}W$, where $V_L^\ell$ is a unitary matrix needed to diagonalize the charged lepton mass matrix and $W$ measures the deviation of the neutrino mixing matrix from the bimaximal form. Hence, corrections to $U_{\rm TBM}$ arise from both charged lepton and neutrino sectors. Following our previous work to assume a Qin-…
The MiniBooNe collaboration has recently reported evidence for a light sterile neutrino with large mixing angles thus corroborating the measurement by LSND twenty years ago. Such a state would be directly in conflict with Planck measurement of BBN $N_{eff}$ unless there is self-interaction in the sterile sector. Our objective is to investigate if such interactions could result in resonant absorption in the cosmogenic neutrino spectrum and its consequences for the IceCube experiment. We show that it is possible to give independent bounds on sterile neutrino parameter space from IceCube observat…
In this work, we present a realistic analysis of the potential of the present-day reactor experiments Double Chooz, Daya Bay and RENO for probing the existence of sterile neutrinos. We present exclusion regions for sterile oscillation parameters for each of these experiments, using simulations with realistic estimates of systematic errors and detector resolutions, and compare the sterile parameter sensitivity regions we obtain with the existing bounds from other reactor experiments. We find that these experimental set-ups give significant bounds on the parameter Θ_{ee} especially in the low st…
A relativistic theory for neutrino superluminality is presented (in principle, the same mechanism applies also to other fermions). The theory involves the standard-model particles and one additional heavy sterile neutrino with an energy-scale close to or above the electroweak one, all particles propagating in the usual 3+1 spacetime dimensions. Lorentz violation results from spontaneous symmetry breaking in the sterile-neutrino sector. The theory tries, as far as possible, to be consistent with the existing experimental data from neutrino physics and to keep the number of assumptions minimal. …
We show that the main features of the pattern of fermion masses and mixing can be expressed in terms of simple relations among weak-basis invariants. In the quark sector, we identify the weak-basis invariants which signal the observed alignment of the up and down quark mass matrices in flavour space. In the lepton sector, we indicate how a set of conditions on weak-basis invariants can lead to an approximate tribimaximal lepton mixing matrix. We also show the usefulness of these invariants in the study of specific ansätze for the flavour structure of fermion mass matrices.
Quasi-sterile neutrinos are a natural consequence of dark sectors interacting with the Standard Model (SM) sector via neutrino- and vector-portals. Essentially, quasi-sterile neutrinos are light dark sector fermions with two generic properties: (i) they mix with the active neutrinos of the SM, and (ii) they are charged under a vector mediator that couples feebly to SM matter. Various interesting phenomenological consequences result from this class of particles. In this article, we investigate one such consequence: new, beyond the SM matter effects that can alter in-medium neutrino oscillations…
We have studied a flavor symmetry-based extended left-right symmetric model(LRSM) with a dominant type-II seesaw mechanism and have explored the associated neutrino phenomenology. The particle content of the model includes usual quarks, and leptons along with additional sterile fermion per generation in the fermion sector while the scalar content contains Higgs doublets and scalar bidoublet. Realization of this extension of LRSM has been done by using $A_{4}\times Z_{4}$ discrete symmetries. In this work, we have also included the study of sterile neutrino dark matter(DM) phenomenology along w…
