Two sides of the same coin: sterile neutrinos and dark radiation. Status and perspectives
Maria Archidiacono, Stefano Gariazzo
备注：
18 pages, 6 figures. Short invited review to appear in Universe, special issue "Dark Matter and Dark Energy: Particle Physics, Cosmology, and Experimental Searches"
The presence of light sterile neutrinos is one of the unanswered questions of particle physics. The cosmological counterpart is represented by dark radiation, i.e.\ any form of radiation present in the early Universe besides photons and standard (active) neutrinos. This short review provides a comprehensive overview of the two problems and of their connection. We review the status of neutrino oscillation anomalies, commenting on the most recent oscillation data and their mutual tensions, and we discuss the constraints from other terrestrial probes. We show the shortcomings of translating light sterile neutrinos in cosmology as additional thermalised relativistic species, produced by neutrino oscillations, and we detail alternative solutions, specifically focusing on neutrino non standard interactions, and on their link to the Hubble constant problem. The impact of a new force leading to dark radiation -- dark matter interactions is also discussed in the realm of new physics in the dark sector.
The indications in favor of the existence of light sterile neutrinos at the eV scale found in short-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments is reviewed. The future perspectives of short-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments and the connections with beta-decay measurements of the neutrino masses and with neutrinoless double-beta decay experiments are discussed.
A number of anomalous results in short-baseline oscillation may hint at the existence of one or more light sterile neutrino states in the eV mass range and have triggered a wave of new experimental efforts to search for a definite signature of oscillations between active and sterile neutrino states. The present paper aims to provide a comprehensive review on the status of light sterile neutrino searches in mid-2019: we discuss not only the basic experimental approaches and sensitivities of reactor, source, atmospheric, and accelerator neutrino oscillation experiments but also the complementary…
It has been proposed that two resonances could coincide in the early universe at temperatures $T \sim 0.2 ... 0.5$ GeV: one between two nearly degenerate GeV-scale sterile neutrinos, producing a large lepton asymmetry through freeze-out and decays; another between medium-modified active neutrinos and keV-scale sterile neutrinos, converting the lepton asymmetry into dark matter. Making use of a framework which tracks three sterile neutrinos of both helicities as well as three separate lepton asymmetries, and scanning the parameter space of the GeV-scale species, we establish the degree of fine-…
A number of short baseline neutrino oscillation experiments have observed an anomalous excess of neutrinos in the low energy range. This may hint towards the existence of additional neutrino mass splittings. If true, additional sterile (non-interacting) neutrino states above the current 3 neutrino model would be required. On the other hand, many parameters of the allowed space are limited by experiments that have seen no anomaly. We will introduce models which accommodate these additional neutrinos, and then discuss our work towards fitting these models to the available global high $Δm^{2}$ os…
Most of the neutrino oscillation results can be explained by the three-neutrino paradigm. However several anomalies in short baseline oscillation data could be interpreted by invoking a hypothetical fourth neutrino, separated from the three standard neutrinos by a squared mass difference of more than 0.1 eV$^2$. This new neutrino, often called sterile, would not feel standard model interactions but mix with the others. Such a scenario calling for new physics beyond the standard model has to be either ruled out or confirmed with new data. After a brief review of the anomalous oscillation result…
In this talk we review the current status of sterile neutrino searches and discuss the potential of future long baseline experiments to study their properties.
Light sterile neutrinos with a mass around 1 eV have been studied for many years as a possible explanation of the so called short-baseline neutrino oscillation anomalies. Recently, several neutrino oscillation experiments reported preferences for non-zero values of the mixing angles and squared mass differences for active-sterile mixing, which however are not always in agreement. I review our current knowledge of the light sterile neutrino in the 3+1 model, starting with a separate discussion on the status of the most relevant searches and then analyzing the problems that arise when combining …
We review the status of sterile neutrino dark matter and discuss astrophysical and cosmological bounds on its properties as well as future prospects for its experimental searches. We argue that if sterile neutrinos are the dominant fraction of dark matter, detecting an astrophysical signal from their decay (the so-called 'indirect detection') may be the only way to identify these particles experimentally. However, it may be possible to check the dark matter origin of the observed signal unambiguously using its characteristic properties and/or using synergy with accelerator experiments, searchi…
The $\sim 3σ$ discrepancy between the predicted and observed reactor anti-neutrino flux, known as the reactor anti-neutrino anomaly, continues to intrigue. The recent discovery of an unexpected bump in the reactor anti-neutrino spectrum, as well as indications that the flux deficit is different for different fission isotopes seems to disfavour the explanation of the anomaly in terms of sterile neutrino oscillations. We critically review this conclusion in view of all available data on electron (anti)neutrino disappearance. We find that the sterile neutrino hypothesis cannot be rejected based o…
We review sterile neutrinos as possible Dark Matter candidates. After a short summary on the role of neutrinos in cosmology and particle physics, we give a comprehensive overview of the current status of the research on sterile neutrino Dark Matter. First we discuss the motivation and limits obtained through astrophysical observations. Second, we review different mechanisms of how sterile neutrino Dark Matter could have been produced in the early universe. Finally, we outline a selection of future laboratory searches for keV-scale sterile neutrinos, highlighting their experimental challenges a…
We review the status of light sterile neutrino searches, motivated by the original Short BaseLine (SBL) anomalies. Here, we discuss how sterile neutrino properties can be constrained by different types of neutrino oscillation experiments (considering appearance or disappearance probes in different oscillation channels) and non-oscillation measurements. These latter include experiments aiming at obtaining a value for the absolute scale of neutrino masses ($β$ decay probes) and the indirect constraints that we could obtain from cosmological observations.
This is a pedagogical introduction to the main concepts of the sterile neutrino - a hypothetical particle, coined to resolve some anomalies in neutrino data and retain consistency with observed widths of the $W$ and $Z$ bosons. We briefly review existing anomalies and the oscillation parameters that best describe these data. We discuss in more detail how sterile neutrino can be observed, as well as the consequences of its possible existence. In particular, we pay attention to a possible loss of coherence in a model of neutrino oscillations with sterile neutrinos, where this effect might be of …
We study possible contributions of heavy sterile neutrinos $ν_h$ to the decays $τ^-\to e^{\pm}(μ^{\pm})π^{\mp}π^-$. From the experimental upper bounds on their rates we derive new constraints on the $ν_h-ν_τ$ mixing in the mass region $140.5{MeV}\leq m_{ν_h}\leq 1637$ MeV. We discuss cosmological and astrophysical status of $ν_h$ in this mass region and compare our constraints with those recently derived by the NOMAD collaboration.
We study possible contribution of the Majorana neutrino mass eigenstate $ν_h$ dominated by a sterile neutrino component to neutrinoless double beta ($0νββ$) decay. From the current experimental lower bound on the $0νββ$-decay half-life of $^{76}$Ge we derive stringent constraints on the $ν_h-ν_e$ mixing in a wide region of the values of $ν_h$ mass. We discuss cosmological and astrophysical status of $ν_h$ in this mass region.
Several anomalies observed in short-baseline neutrino experiments indicate that the standard 3-flavor framework may be incomplete and point towards the existence of light sterile neutrinos. Here, we present a concise review of the status of the neutrino oscillations within the 3+1 scheme, which is a minimal extension of the standard 3-flavor framework with one sterile neutrino species. We emphasize the potential role of LBL experiments in the searches of CP violation connected to sterile neutrinos and their complementarity with the SBL experiments.
Light sterile neutrinos with a mass around 1 eV have been studied for many years as a possible explanation of the so called short-baseline neutrino oscillation anomalies. Recently, several neutrino oscillation experiments reported preferences for non-zero values of the mixing angles and squared mass differences for active-sterile mixing, which however are not always in agreement. I will review our current knowledge on the light sterile neutrino in the 3+1 model, starting with a separate discussion on the status of the most relevant searches and then analyzing the problems that arise when combi…
We give an overview of the current status of keV sterile neutrino Dark Matter. After a short introduction, we start by a general discussion of non-thermal production of Dark Matter, which applies to the three most commonly discussed mechanisms to produce sterile neutrino Dark Matter in the Universe: non-resonant, resonant, and decay production. The main goal in each case is to compute the momentum distribution function $f(p,t)$, which incorporates the full information about the Dark Matter setting under consideration, at least in what concerns its cosmological aspects. While some difficulties …
I summarize the status of three-flavour neutrino oscillations with date of Oct. 2007, and provide an outlook for the developments to be expected in the near future. Furthermore, I discuss the status of sterile neutrino oscillation interpretations of the LSND anomaly in the light of recent MiniBooNE results, and comment on implications for the future neutrino oscillation program.
Neutrinos, being the only fermions in the Standard Model of Particle Physics that do not possess electromagnetic or color charges, have the unique opportunity to communicate with fermions outside the Standard Model through mass mixing. Such Standard Model-singlet fermions are generally referred to as "sterile neutrinos''. In this review article, we discuss the theoretical and experimental motivation for sterile neutrinos, as well as their phenomenological consequences. With the benefit of hindsight in 2020, we point out potentially viable and interesting ideas. We focus in particular on steril…
The OPERA experiment at the CNGS beam has observed muon to tau neutrino oscillations in the atmospheric sector. Based on this result new limits on the mixing parameters of a massive sterile neutrino may be set. Preliminary results of the analysis done in the 3+1 neutrino framework are here presented. An update of the search for sterile neutrinos in the $ν_μ \rightarrow ν_e$ channel is also given. The status of the searches for sterile neutrinos performed at other Long--Baseline experiments (MINOS at NuMI beam and SuperK with the atmospheric flux) is also briefly recalled. Finally, some persona…
Some aspects of the current neutrino oscillation phenomenology are briefly discussed, with emphasis on the status of mass-mixing parameters relevant for scenarios with three active neutrinos, and with an additional fourth sterile neutrino.
Searches for light sterile neutrinos are motivated by the unexpected observation of electron neutrino appearance in short-baseline experiments, such as the Liquid Scintillator Neutrino Detector (LSND) and the Mini Booster Neutrino Experiment (MiniBooNE). In light of these unexpected results, a campaign using natural and anthropogenic sources to find light -- mass-squared-difference around 1 eV$^{2}$ -- sterile neutrinos is underway. Among the natural sources, atmospheric neutrinos provide a unique gateway to search for sterile neutrinos due to the broad range of baseline-to-energy ratios, $L/E…
The existence of low-mass sterile neutrinos is suggested by the current status of solar and atmospheric neutrinos together with the LSND experiment. In typical four-flavor scenarios, neutrinos would contribute to a cosmic hot dark matter component and to an increased radiation content at the epoch of matter-radiation equality. These effects leave their imprint in sky maps of the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR) and may thus be detectable with the precision measurements of the upcoming MAP and PLANCK missions.
We present an overview of the current status of neutrino oscillation studies at atmospheric neutrino experiments. While the current data gives some tentalising hints regarding the neutrino mass hierarchy, octant of $θ_{23}$ and $δ_{CP}$, the hints are not statistically significant. We summarise the sensitivity to these sub-dominant three-generation effects from the next-generation proposed atmospheric neutrino experiments. We next present the prospects of new physics searches such as non-standard interactions, sterile neutrinos and CPT violation studies at these experiments.
In the context of the recent (79.5 kTy) Super-Kamiokande atmospheric neutrino data, we concisely review the status of muonic-tauonic flavor oscillations and of the subdominant electron or sterile neutrino mixing, in schemes with three or four families and one dominant mass scale. In the three-family case, where we include the full CHOOZ spectral data, we also show, through a specific example, that ``maximal'' violations of the one-dominant mass scale approximation are not ruled out yet.
We re-examine vacuum oscillation solutions of the solar neutrino problem taking (a) the results on total rates, electron energy spectrum, and the seasonal variations from the 708 day SuperKamiokande data and (b) those on total rates from the Chlorine and Gallium experiments. Best fit values for the mixing angle and mass splitting are found for oscillations to sequential and sterile neutrinos and the 90% C.L. allowed regions are determined.
I review the current status of structure formation bounds on neutrino properties such as mass and energy density. I also discuss future cosmological bounds as well as a variety of different scenarios for reconciling cosmology with the presence of light sterile neutrinos.
The baryon-dark matter coincidence is a long-standing issue. Interestingly, the recent observations suggest the presence of dark radiation, which, if confirmed, would pose another coincidence problem of why the density of dark radiation is comparable to that of photons. These striking coincidences may be traced back to the dark sector with particle contents and interactions that are quite similar, if not identical, to the standard model: a dark parallel world. It naturally solves the coincidence problems of dark matter and dark radiation, and predicts a sterile neutrino(s) with mass of ${\cal …
In this talk we present the results of an updated global analysis of two-flavor MSW solutions to the solar neutrino problem in terms of conversions of $ν_e$ into active or sterile neutrinos including the the full data set corresponding to the 825-day Super-Kamiokande data sample as well as to Chlorine, GALLEX and SAGE experiments.
The current status of the phenomenology of short-baseline neutrino oscillations induced by light sterile neutrinos in the framework of 3+1 mixing is reviewed.
We show that when the neutrino minimal standard model ($νMSM$) with a light sterile neutrino has a long range interaction between the neutrino vacuum charge density and a dark U(1) gauge potential, late time acceleration is dynamically realized. Moreover, the relation between the scale of dark energy, the weak and Planck masses derived by Arkani-Hamed et. al \cite{ArkaniHamed:2000tc} that addresses the coincidence problem arises naturally in this model. Assuming that the cosmological constant is zero by some as yet known mechanism, the only fine tuning in our model is the mass of the sterile n…
In the presence of transition magnetic moments between active and sterile neutrinos, the search for a Primakoff upscattering process at coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CE$ν$NS) experiments can provide stringent constraints on the neutrino magnetic moment. We show that a radiative upscattering process with an emitted photon in the final state can induce a novel coincidence signal at CE$ν$NS experiments that can also probe neutrino transition magnetic moments beyond existing limits. Furthermore, the differential distributions for such a radiative mode can also potentially be sensit…
The KATRIN experiment, presently under construction in Karlsruhe, Germany, will improve on previous laboratory limits on the neutrino mass by a factor of ten. KATRIN will use a high-activity, gaseous T2 source and a very high-resolution spectrometer to measure the shape of the high-energy tail of the tritium-decay beta spectrum. The shape measurement will also be sensitive to new physics, including sterile neutrinos and Lorentz violation. This report summarizes recent progress in the experiment.
New experimental results, if correct, require at least one light sterile neutrino, in addition to the three active ones, to accommodate the mass differences required to explain the solar $ν_e$ deficit, the anomalous $ν/e$ ratio produced by atmospheric neutrinos, and either the candidate events for $ν_μ\toν_e$ (or $\barν_μ\to\barν_e$) from the LSND experiment, or the possible need for a hot component of dark matter. This neutrino mass pattern can not only accommodate all these four requirements, but also provide a robust solution to a problem presently making heavy-element synthesis by supernov…
The simplest Standard Model extension to explain neutrino masses involves the addition of right-handed neutrinos. At some level, this extension will impact neutrino oscillation searches. In this work we explore the differences and similarities between the case in which these neutrinos are kinematically accessible (sterile neutrinos) or not (mixing matrix non-unitarity). We clarify apparent inconsistencies in the present literature when using different parametrizations to describe these effects and recast both limits in the popular neutrino non-standard interaction (NSI) formalism. We find that…
We review the status of searches for sterile neutrinos in the $\sim 1$ eV range, with an emphasis on the latest results from short baseline oscillation experiments and how they fit within sterile neutrino oscillation models. We present global fit results to a three-active-flavor plus one-sterile-flavor model (3+1), where we find an improvement of $Δχ^2=35$ for 3 additional parameters compared to a model with no sterile neutrino. This is a 5$σ$ improvement, indicating that an effect that is like that of a sterile neutrino is highly preferred by the data. However we note that separate fits to th…
Over the past few decades, a consensus picture has emerged in which roughly a quarter of the universe consists of dark matter. I begin with a review of the observational evidence for the existence of dark matter: rotation curves of galaxies, gravitational lensing measurements, hot gas in clusters, galaxy formation, primordial nucleosynthesis and cosmic microwave background observations. Then I discuss a number of anomalous signals in a variety of data sets that may point to discovery, though all of them are controversial. The annual modulation in the DAMA detector and/or the gamma-ray excess s…
Short baseline neutrino experiments such as LSND and MiniBooNE seem to suggest the existence of light sterile neutrinos. Meanwhile, current cosmic microwave background (CMB) and big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) measurements place an upper bound on the effective number of light neutrinos, $N_{eff}$ and the PLANCK satellite will measure $N_{eff}$ to a much higher accuracy and further constrain the number of sterile neutrinos allowed. We demonstrate that if an MeV dark matter particle couples more strongly to electrons and/or photons than to neutrinos, then p-wave annihilation after neutrino decoup…
An anomaly in the time behaviour of the signals observed by the KARMEN Collaboration may be interpreted as the possible decay signature of a 33.9 MeV/c$^2$ mainly sterile neutrino. This note discusses the parameter space still open for the mixing of this hypothetical particle with the neutrinos of known leptonic flavour, considering the experimental results which became available recently, as well as those to be expected from forthcoming measurements. It is concluded that if no positive signature is observed, the envisaged laboratory experiments are not expected to close enterily the parameter…
I give a brief overview over various attempts to reconcile the LSND evidence for oscillations with all other global neutrino data, including the results from MiniBooNE. I discuss the status of oscillation schemes with one or more sterile neutrinos and comment on various exotic proposals.
The current status of neutrino cosmology is reviewed, from the question of neutrino decoupling and the presence of sterile neutrinos to the effects of neutrinos on the cosmic microwave background and large scale structure. Particular emphasis is put on cosmological neutrino mass measurements.
We discuss recent searches for new physics using high-energy atmospheric neutrino data from IceCube, namely sterile neutrinos with masses in the range $Δm^2 = 0.01$ eV$^2$ - 10 eV$^2$, and non-standard interactions (NSI) in the $ν_μ- ν_τ$ sector. We also present a brief review of the current status of NSI theory and phenomenology.
We present a short review of the present status of the problem of neutrino masses and mixing including a survey of theoretical motivations and models, experimental searches and implications of recently appeared solar and atmospheric neutrino data, which strongly indicate nonzero neutrino masses. Such data apparently requires the existence of light sterile neutrino in addition to the three active ones and two-generation nearly maximal mixing.
A brief review of the current status of neutrino mixing and oscillations in astrophysical environments, with particular emphasis on the Sun and core-collapse supernovae, is given. Implications of the existence of sterile states which mix with the active neutrinos are discussed.
We discuss the status of the solutions of the solar neutrino problem in terms of oscillations of $ν_e$ into active or sterile neutrinos. We present the results of a global fit to the full data set corresponding to the latest data presented at the $ν$-2000 conference. We show the possible solutions in the full parameter space including both MSW and vacuum, as well as quasi-vacuum oscillations (QVO) and matter effects for mixing angles in the second octant (the so called dark side). Our conclusion is that from the statistical point of view, all solutions for oscillations into active neutrinos: L…
We introduce an axion-inflation model embedded in the Left-Right symmetric extension of the SM in which $W_R$ is coupled to the axion. This model merges three milestones of modern cosmology, i.e., inflation, cold dark matter, and baryon asymmetry. Thus, it can naturally explain the observed coincidences among cosmological parameters, i.e., $η_{B}\approx P_ζ$ and $Ω_{DM} \simeq 5~Ω_{B}$. The source of asymmetry is spontaneous CP violation in the physics of inflation, and the lightest right-handed neutrino is the cold dark matter candidate with mass $m_{N_1}\sim 1~GeV$. The introduced mechanism …
Self-Interacting Sterile Neutrino Cold Dark Matter: Resonant Production Mechanism in the Early Universe
Korea Institute for Advanced Study（韩国高等科学研究院）；Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (HIAS-UCAS)（中国科学院大学杭州高等研究院）；Department of Physics, Kyungpook National University（庆北国立大学物理系）；Center for Theoretical Physics of the Universe, Institute for Basic Science (IBS)（基础科学研究所宇宙理论物理中心）
We present an update of our analysis of short-baseline neutrino oscillation data in the framework of 3+1 neutrino mixing taking into account the recent update of MiniBooNE antineutrino data and the recent results of the MINOS search for nu_mu disappearance into sterile neutrinos (the more complicated 3+2 neutrino mixing is not needed since the CP-violating difference between MiniBooNE neutrino and antineutrino data has diminished). The results of our fits of short-baseline neutrino oscillation data including the MiniBooNE low-energy anomaly (now present both in the neutrino and antineutrino da…
The connection of neutrino physics with neutrinoless double beta decay is reviewed. After presenting the current status of the PMNS matrix and the theoretical background of neutrino mass and lepton mixing, we will summarize the various implications of neutrino physics for double beta decay. The influence of light sterile neutrinos and other exotic modifications of the three neutrino picture is also discussed.
Cosmological observations have in the past few years become an increasingly powerful method for determining parameters within the neutrino sector, such as the presence of sterile states and the mass of neutrinos. I review the current status of the field in light of recent measurements of the cosmic microwave background by the WMAP collaboration, as well as current large scale galaxy surveys.
In this talk I will review the present status and future perspectives of some popular extensions of the conventional three-neutrino oscillation scenario, from a purely phenomenological point of view. For concreteness I will focus only on three specific scenarios: non-standard neutrino interactions with matters, models with extra sterile neutrinos, and neutrino decay and decoherence.
This review demonstrates the unique role of the neutrino by discussing in detail the physics of and with neutrinos. We deal with neutrino sources, neutrino oscillations, absolute masses, interactions, the possible existence of sterile neutrinos, and theoretical implications. In addition, synergies of neutrino physics with other research fields are found, and requirements to continue successful neutrino physics in the future, in terms of technological developments and adequate infrastructures, are stressed.
I review the status of neutrino masses and mixings in the light of the solar and atmospheric neutrino data. The result from the LSND experiment and the possible role of neutrinos as hot dark matter are also included. I also discuss the simplest schemes proposed to reconcile these data which include a light sterile neutrino in addition to the three standard ones. Implications for future experiments are commented.
