Towards Measuring the CP-Violating Phase with Atmospheric Neutrinos

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel atmospheric neutrino flux ratio method to measure the CP-violating phase, potentially surpassing existing long-baseline experiments in sensitivity.

Contribution

It develops a new flux ratio approach that incorporates realistic detection effects and reduces uncertainties, offering a promising alternative for CP violation measurement.

Findings

The method can outperform T2HK near δ_CP = 90° and 270° with Hyper-Kamiokande.

Realistic detection effects are incorporated into the flux ratio analysis.

Further work is needed to reduce theoretical uncertainties for optimal results.

Abstract

We propose a new approach to measuring the CP-violating phase in neutrino mixing using atmospheric neutrinos, differing significantly from prior work. We develop an up-down flux ratio for sub-GeV atmospheric neutrinos that incorporates realistic detection effects and reduces systematic uncertainties. For the example of Hyper-Kamiokande -- the first experiment with sufficient atmospheric-neutrino statistics in this energy range -- our approach can surpass the sensitivity of the Tokai to Hyper-Kamiokande (T2HK) long-baseline experiment near $\mathit{\delta_\mathrm{CP} = 90^\circ}$ and $\mathit{270^\circ}$. Realizing this potential will require additional, but realistic, work to reduce theoretical uncertainties. Success will provide an important, complementary probe to multi-\$1B accelerator-based experiments.