Reason for T2K to run in dominant neutrino mode for detecting CP violation

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the optimal neutrino and antineutrino running modes for the T2K experiment to maximize CP violation detection, suggesting that a dominant neutrino mode could be more effective when combined with other experiments' antineutrino data.

Contribution

It proposes a strategy to reduce T2K's antineutrino run by leveraging data from NOνA and ICAL@INO, optimizing CP sensitivity.

Findings

Pure neutrino run maximizes CP sensitivity if octant is known.

Antineutrino run helps only in specific parameter sets.

Reducing T2K antineutrino run is feasible with other experiments' data.

Abstract

The long-baseline experiment T2K in Japan has collected data in the neutrino mode corresponding to an exposure of $6.57 \times 10^{20}$ POT (Protons on Target) and currently it is running in the antineutrino mode. The main aim of the antineutrino run is to measure the leptonic phase $\delta_{CP}$ which may help to understand the matter-antimatter asymmetry of the universe. In this work we show that in T2K, antineutrinos are required only for removing the wrong octant solutions which in turn improves the CP sensitivity. If however the octant is known then pure neutrino run is capable of giving the maximum CP sensitivity. If we divide the total true parameter space into eight sets, then we find that T2K antineutrino run helps in improving the CP sensitivity for only two sets while for the remaining six combinations pure neutrino run gives the best CP sensitivity. Thus if the neutrino run is replaced by the antineutrino run then it causes a reduction in the CP sensitivity in 75$\%$ of the true parameter space due to lesser statistics. Thus it is worthwhile to study if the T2K antineutrino run can be reduced by the antineutrino runs of the other experiments, so that T2K can run in dominant neutrino mode to extract the best CP sensitivity. In this work we explore the possibility of the antineutrino component of NO$\nu$A and the atmospheric neutrino experiment ICAL@INO for compensating the antineutrino run of T2K.