Description:

Abstract: Neutrinos were discovered more than 60 years ago, yet they are the most mysterious particles of the Standard Model (SM) of particle physics. Some of neutrino properties can be explained through the current rich data of the neutrino experiments; however, there are still important unanswered questions which need to be clarified. How many neutrino species do we have? Are there any sterile neutrinos? Why are neutrinos so light? We do not know the absolute neutrino masses. Also, is there CP-violation in the neutrino sector? If yes, what is the value of the CP-violating phase? Is neutrino its own antiparticle? Are neutrinos Dirac or Majorana? In order to further explore the neutrino sector and answer these questions, next-generation, long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments are being built, including the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) in the United States. Given the intense neutrino beam, the massive far detector, and the envisaged scale of the near detector, DUNE, a multi-billion-dollar experiment, will certainly offer a rich physics program. In this colloquium first a general introduction will be given on the current status of neutrino physics. Then we will discuss how the potential of the DUNE experiment can be used to explore the connections between neutrinos and other open questions of particle physics, including light Z' models and axion-like particles. Finally, we will demonstrate how to systematically study physics beyond the standard model in the neutrino oscillation experiments within the Effective Field Theory framework. In this way, the analysis of the data can capture large classes of models, where the new degrees of freedom have masses well above the relevant energy for the experiment. Moreover, it allows us to compare several experiments in a unified framework and in a systematic way, where in this way the results from neutrino experiments can be connected with the results of other experiments, such as LHC.

Speaker: Zahra Tabrizi, NTN Fellow, Northwestern University

Host: Professor André de Gouvêa