English

Exploring the Neutrino Mass Hierarchy Probability with Meteoritic Supernova Material, {\nu}-Process Nucleosynthesis, and {\theta}13 Mixing

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena 2014-05-06 v2 Earth and Planetary Astrophysics High Energy Physics - Experiment

Abstract

There is recent evidence that some SiC X grains from the Murchison meteorite may contain supernova-produced {\nu}-process 11B and or 7Li encapsulated in the grains. The synthesis of 11B and 7Li via neutrino-induced nucleon emission (the {\nu} -process) in supernovae is sensitive to the neutrino mass hierarchy for finite sin^2(2{\theta}13) > 0.001}. This sensitivity arises because, when there is 13 mixing, the average electron neutrino energy for charged-current neutrino reactions is larger for a normal mass hierarchy than for an inverted hierarchy. Recent constraints on {\theta}13 from the Daya Bay, Double Chooz, MINOS, RENO and T2K collaborations all suggest that indeed sin^2(2{\theta}13) > 0.001}. We examine the possible implications of these new results based upon a Bayesian analysis of the uncertainties in the measured meteoritic material and the associated supernova nucleosynthesis models. We show that although the uncertainties are large, they hint at a marginal preference for an inverted neutrino mass hierarchy. We discuss the possibility that an analysis of more X grains enriched in Li and B along with a better understanding of the relevant stellar nuclear and neutrino reactions could eventually reveal the neutrino mass hierarchy.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1108.0725,
  title  = {Exploring the Neutrino Mass Hierarchy Probability with Meteoritic Supernova Material, {\nu}-Process Nucleosynthesis, and {\theta}13 Mixing},
  author = {G. J. Mathews and T. Kajino and W. Aoki and W. Fujiya and J. B. Pitts},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1108.0725},
  year   = {2014}
}

Comments

8 pages, 4 figure, Phys. Rev. D, in press (2012)