Super-Kamiokande atmospheric neutrino data, zenith distributions, and three-flavor oscillations

dc.creatorFogli, G. L.
dc.creatorLisi, E.
dc.creatorMarrone, A.
dc.creatorScioscia, G.
dc.date1998-08-03
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-07T10:33:43Z
dc.date.available2026-07-07T10:33:43Z
dc.descriptionWe present a detailed analysis of the zenith angle distributions of atmospheric neutrino events observed in the Super-Kamiokande (SK) underground experiment, assuming two-flavor and three-flavor oscillations (with one dominant mass scale) among active neutrinos. In particular, we calculate the five angular distributions associated to sub-GeV and multi-GeV μ-like and e-like events and to upward through-going muons, for a total of 30 accurately computed observables (zenith bins). First we study how such observables vary with the oscillation parameters, and then we perform a fit to the experimental data as measured in SK for an exposure of 33 kTy (535 days). In the two-flavor mixing case, we confirm the results of the SK Collaboration analysis, namely, that ν_μ<--->ν_τoscillations are preferred over ν_μ<--->ν_e, and that the no oscillation case is excluded with high confidence. In the three-flavor mixing case, we perform our analysis with and without the additional constraints imposed by the CHOOZ reactor experiment. In both cases, the analysis favors a dominance of the ν_μ<--->ν_τchannel. Without the CHOOZ constraints, the amplitudes of the subdominant ν_μ<--->nu_e and ν_e<--->ν_τtransitions can also be relatively large, indicating that, at present, current SK data do not exclude sizable ν_e mixing by themselves. After combining the CHOOZ and SK data, the amplitudes of the subdominant transitions are constrained to be smaller, but they can still play a nonnegligible role both in atmospheric and other neutrino oscillation searches. In particular, we find that the ν_e appearance probability expected in long baseline experiments can reach the testable level of ~15%.
dc.description35 pages (RevTeX), including 20 ps figures (with epsfig.sty)
dc.identifierhttps://arxiv.org/abs/hep-ph/9808205
dc.identifierhttp://arxiv.org/abs/hep-ph/9808205
dc.identifierPhys.Rev.D59:033001,1999
dc.identifierdoi:10.1103/PhysRevD.59.033001
dc.identifier.urihttp://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/179214
dc.subjectHigh Energy Physics - Phenomenology
dc.titleSuper-Kamiokande atmospheric neutrino data, zenith distributions, and three-flavor oscillations
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