Search arXiv⌕ Search
Home/Archive/arXiv

arXiv · 1103.0689

Heavy-neutrino decays at neutrino telescopes

Manuel Masip·Pere Masjuan
View original source ↗Read source document ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

It has been recently proposed that a sterile neutrino ν_h of mass m_h=40--80 MeV, mixing |U_{μh}|^2=10^{-3}--10^{-2}, lifetime τ_h \lsim 10^{-9} s, and a dominant decay mode (ν_h \to ν_μγ) could be the origin of the experimental anomalies observed at LSND, KARMEN and MiniBooNE. Such a particle would be abundant inside air showers, as it can be produced in kaon decays (K -> ν_h μ, K_L -> ν_h πμ). We use the Z-moment method to evaluate its atmospheric flux and the frequency of its decays inside neutrino telescopes. We show that the ν_h would imply around 10^4 contained showers per year inside a 0.03 km^3 telescope like ANTARES or the DeepCore in IceCube. These events would have a characteristic energy and zenith-angle distribution (E_ν= 0.1--10 TeV and θ< 90^o), which results from a balance between the reach of the heavy neutrino (that disfavors low energies) and a sizeable production rate and decay probability. The standard background from contained neutrino events (ν_e N \to e X and neutral-current interactions of high inelasticity) is 100 times smaller. Therefore, although it may be challenging from an experimental point of view, a search at ANTARES and IceCube could confirm this heavy-neutrino possibility.

Explore related subjects

hep-phastro-ph.HE

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Manuel Masip, Pere Masjuan. 2011-05-03. Heavy-neutrino decays at neutrino telescopes. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.83.091301

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

arXiv2026

Exploring the Singlino-dominated Thermal Neutralino Dark Matter in the $Z_3$ invariant NMSSM

We examine the parameter space of the Next to Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (NMSSM) with Singlino-dominated neutralino $\widetildeχ_1^0$ as the lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP). Our study focuses on identifying the regions within this parameter space that produce a thermal relic abundance of $\widetildeχ_1^0$ smaller than the observed cold dark matter relic density while remaining consistent with constraints from LEP measurements, low-energy experiments, Higgs measurements, LHC data, and dark matter direct detection experiments. We identify the dominant annihilation modes of the LSP neutralino across varying LSP mass ranges $\sim \mathcal{O}(1)-\mathcal{O}(10^{3})~$GeV. Furthermore, we conduct a benchmark study to assess the production rates of triple-boson final states emerging from direct electroweakino pair production at the LHC. Drawing insights from these findings, we perform a detailed collider analysis to explore the future potential of probing the triple-boson final states involving a light Higgs boson at the high-luminosity LHC (HL-LHC).

hep-ph↗
arXiv2026

A Finite-History Interpretation of the AMS-02 Positron Spectrum

I examine whether the separation between the characteristic energy scales of cosmic-ray electrons and positrons can be understood as a finite-history effect, without introducing a separate dominant source specifically to generate the high-energy positron feature. In this description the positron retains the opposite Dirac phase orientation relative to ordinary matter clocks, while local interactions and positive physical energies remain unchanged. Reduced accumulated overlap with the matter-defined Galactic environment is represented by a single, approximately shape-preserving energy rescaling. An illustrative overlap benchmark moves the broad structure of an empirical electron reference near 10 GeV into the few-hundred-GeV region. A number-conserving spatial-dilution example provides an order-of-magnitude interpretation of the relative amplitude. The comparison uses the published AMS-02 electron spectrum directly, with fixed, rounded horizontal and vertical scales rather than optimized spectral parameters. Known populations, including pulsars, may contribute subleading components in this interpretation. The resulting characteristic-scale displacement and geometrical amplitude interpretation provide a possible physical account of the positron spectral hierarchy.

hep-ph↗
arXiv2026

A Common Antimatter Response in AMS-02 Positrons and Antiprotons

I present a common finite-history picture for the contrasting spectra of cosmic-ray positrons and antiprotons. Particles and antiparticles retain opposite Dirac phase orientations relative to ordinary matter clocks, while local interactions and positive physical energies remain unchanged. The finite-history description assigns their accumulated response a different overlap with the matter-defined Galactic environment. Its leading effect is represented by a single, approximately shape-preserving rescaling. For positrons, an illustrative overlap benchmark moves the broad structure of an empirical electron reference near 10 GeV into the few-hundred-GeV region, without introducing a separate dominant source specifically to generate that feature. A number-conserving spatial-dilution example provides an order-of-magnitude interpretation of the relative amplitude. For antiprotons, ordinary secondary production supplies an approximately power-law reference; a scale-neutral response preserves its index and gives a nearly constant antiproton-to-proton ratio. Direct comparisons with the published AMS-02 spectra illustrate these two outcomes using fixed, rounded scales. The resulting characteristic-scale displacement and spectral-index preservation provide a unified physical organization of two otherwise different antimatter observations.

hep-ph↗