Hamevol1.0: a C++ code for differential equations based on Runge-Kutta algorithm. An application to matter enhanced neutrino oscillation

We present a C++ implementation of a fifth order semi-implicit Runge-Kutta algorithm for solving Ordinary Differential Equations. This algorithm can be used for studying many different problems and in particular it can be applied for computing the evolution of any system whose Hamiltonian is known. We consider in particular the problem of calculating the neutrino oscillation probabilities in presence of matter interactions. The time performance and the accuracy of this implementation is competitive with respect to the other analytical and numerical techniques used in literature. The algorithm design and the salient features of the code are presented and discussed and some explicit examples of code application are given.Comment: 18 pages, Late

The Neutrino mass matrix after Kamland and SNO salt enhanced results

An updated analysis of all available neutrino oscillation evidence in Solar experiments including the latest SNO ES,CC and NC data (254d live time, NaCL enhanced efficiency) is presented. We obtain, for the fraction of active oscillating neutrinos: sin^2alpha=(\Phi_{NC}-\Phi_{CC})/(\Phi_{SSM}-\Phi_{CC})=0.94^{+0.0.065}_{-0.060} nearly 20\sigma from the pure sterile oscillation case. The fraction of oscillating sterile neutrinos cos^2\alpha \lsim 0.12 (1 sigma CL). At face value, these results might slightly favour the existence of a small sterile oscillating sector. In the framework of two active neutrino oscillations we determine individual neutrino mixing parameters and their errors we obtain Delta m^2= 7.01\pm 0.08 \times 10^{-5} eV^2, tan^2 theta=0.42^{+0.12}_{-0.07}. The main difference with previous analysis is a better resolution in parameter space. In particular the secondary region at larger mass differences (LMAII) is now excluded at 95% CL. The combined analysis of solar and Kamland data concludes that maximal mixing is not favoured at 4-5 sigma. This is not supported by the antineutrino reactor results alone. We estimate the individual elements of the two neutrino mass matrix, writing M^2=m^2 I+M_0^2, we obtain (1 sigma errors): M_0^2=10^{-5} eV^2\pmatrix{ 2.06^{+0.29}_{-0.31} & 3.15^{+0.29}_{-0.35} \cr 3.15^{+0.29}_{-0.35} & 4.60^{+0.56}_{-0.44} }

After Sno and Before Kamland: Present and Future of Solar and Reactor Neutrino Physics

We present a short review of the existing evidence in favor of neutrino mass and neutrino oscillations which come from different kinds of experiments. We focus our attention in particular on solar neutrinos, presenting a review of some recent analysis of all available neutrino oscillation evidence in Solar experiments including the recent $SNO CC$ and $NC$ data. We present in detail the power of the reactor experiment KamLAND for discriminating existing solutions to the SNP and giving accurate information on neutrino masses and mixing angles.Comment: Expanded version of the contribution to appear in the Proceedings of ''Third Tropical Workshop on Particle Physics and Cosmology: Neutrinos, Branes and Cosmology (Puerto Rico, August 2002)'

Solving the solar neutrino problem with kamLAND and BOREXINO

We analyze the expected signals of two future neutrino experiments, kamLAND and BOREXINO. We show that with just these experiments, we will hopefully be able to determine which of the existing solutions to the solar neutrino problem is the real solution. We also analyze existing solar neutrino data and determine the best-fit points in the oscillation-parameter space finding that with the inclusion of SNO-charged current, the global-rates analysis gives a favored LMA solution with a goodness of fit (g.o.f) of just 32.63%, whereas the g.o.f of the SMA solution is 9.83%. Nonetheless, maximal and quasi-maximal mixing is not favored. If we include the Superkamiokande spectrum in our \chi^2 analysis, we obtain a LMA solution with a g.o.f. of 84.38%.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, Talk given at 37th Rencontres de Moriond on Electroweak Interactions and Unified Theories, Les Arcs, France, 9-16 Mar 200

The solar neutrino puzzle: present situation and future scenarios

We present a short review of the existing evidence in favor of neutrino mass and neutrino oscillations which come from different kinds of experiments. We focus our attention in particular on solar neutrinos, presenting a global updated phenomenological analysis of all the available data and we comment on different possible future scenarios.Comment: 22 pp. Expanded version of the contribution to appear in the Proceedings of ``Les Rencontres de Physique de la Vallee d'Aoste'', February 200

KamLAND Bounds on Solar Antineutrinos and neutrino transition magnetic moments

We investigate the possibility of detecting solar electron antineutrinos with the KamLAND experiment. These electron antineutrinos are predicted by spin-flavor oscillations at a significant rate even if this mechanism is not the leading solution to the SNP. KamLAND is sensitive to antineutrinos originated from solar ${}^8$B neutrinos. From KamLAND negative results after 145 days of data taking, we obtain model independent limits on the total flux of solar electron antineutrinos $\Phi({}^8 B)< 1.1-3.5\times 10^4 cm^{-2}\ s^{-1}$, more than one order of magnitude smaller than existing limits, and on their appearance probability$P<0.15%$(95antineutrino production by spin-flavor precession, this upper bound implies an upper limit on the product of the intrinsic neutrino magnetic moment and the value of the solar magnetic field$\mu B< 2.3\times 10^{-21}$MeV 95LMA$(\Delta m^2, \tan^2\theta)$values). Limits on neutrino transition moments are also obtained. For realistic values of other astrophysical solar parameters these upper limits would imply that the neutrino magnetic moment is constrained to be, in the most conservative case,$\mu\lsim 3.9\times 10^{-12} \mu_B$(95CL) for a relatively small field$B= 50$kG. For higher values of the magnetic field we obtain:$\mu\lsim 9.0\times 10^{-13} \mu_B$for field$B= 200$kG and$\mu\lsim 2.0\times 10^{-13} \mu_B$for field$B= 1000$ kG at the same statistical significance.Comment: 13 pages, 2 figure

Solar neutrino experiments and Borexino perspectives

We present an updated analysis of all the data available about solar neutrinos, including the charged current SNO results. The best fit of the data is obtained in the Large Mixing Angle region, but different solutions are still possible. We also study the perspectives of Borexino and conclude that this experiment, with a parallel analysis of total rate and day-night asymmmetry, should be able to discriminate between the different possible solutions.Comment: 3 pages, Latex, talk given by V. Antonelli at TAUP 2001 Conferenc

Inhibition of TXNRD or SOD1 overcomes NRF2-mediated resistance to β-lapachone

Alterations in the NRF2/KEAP1 pathway result in the constitutive activation of NRF2, leading to the aberrant induction of antioxidant and detoxification enzymes, including NQO1. The NQO1 bioactivatable agent β-lapachone can target cells with high NQO1 expression but relies in the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are actively scavenged in cells with NRF2/KEAP1 mutations. However, whether NRF2/KEAP1 mutations influence the response to β-lapachone treatment remains unknown. To address this question, we assessed the cytotoxicity of β-lapachone in a panel of NSCLC cell lines bearing either wild-type or mutant KEAP1. We found that, despite overexpression of NQO1, KEAP1 mutant cells were resistant to β-lapachone due to enhanced detoxification of ROS, which prevented DNA damage and cell death. To evaluate whether specific inhibition of the NRF2-regulated antioxidant enzymes could abrogate resistance to β-lapachone, we systematically inhibited the four major antioxidant cellular systems using genetic and/or pharmacologic approaches. We demonstrated that inhibition of the thioredoxin-dependent system or copper-zinc superoxide dismutase (SOD1) could abrogate NRF2-mediated resistance to β-lapachone, while depletion of catalase or glutathione was ineffective. Interestingly, inhibition of SOD1 selectively sensitized KEAP1 mutant cells to β-lapachone exposure. Our results suggest that NRF2/KEAP1 mutational status might serve as a predictive biomarker for response to NQO1-bioactivatable quinones in patients. Further, our results suggest SOD1 inhibition may have potential utility in combination with other ROS inducers in patients with KEAP1/NRF2 mutations