skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Search for: All records

Creators/Authors contains: "Santos, A D"

Note: When clicking on a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) number, you will be taken to an external site maintained by the publisher. Some full text articles may not yet be available without a charge during the embargo (administrative interval).
What is a DOI Number?

Some links on this page may take you to non-federal websites. Their policies may differ from this site.

  1. A search for proton decay into e + / μ + and a η meson has been performed using data from a 0.373 Mton · year exposure (6050.3 live days) of Super-Kamiokande. Compared to previous searches this work introduces an improved model of the intranuclear η interaction cross section, resulting in a factor of 2 reduction in uncertainties from this source and 10 % increase in signal efficiency. No significant data excess was found above the expected number of atmospheric neutrino background events resulting in no indication of proton decay into either mode. Lower limits on the proton partial lifetime of 1.4 × 10 34 years for p e + η and 7.3 × 10 33 years for p μ + η at the 90% CL were set. These limits are around 1.5 times longer than our previous study and are the most stringent to date. Published by the American Physical Society2024 
    more » « less
    Free, publicly-accessible full text available December 1, 2025
  2. We present the results of the charge ratio ( R ) and polarization ( P 0 μ ) measurements using decay electron events collected between September 2008 and June 2022 with the Super-Kamiokande detector. Because of its underground location and long operation, we are able to perform high-precision measurements by accumulating cosmic-ray muons. We measured the muon charge ratio to be R = 1.32 ± 0.02 ( stat + syst ) at E μ cos θ Zenith = 0.7 0.2 + 0.3 TeV , where E μ is the muon energy and θ Zenith is the zenith angle of incoming cosmic-ray muons. This result is consistent with the Honda flux model while indicating a tension with the π K model of 1.9 σ . We also measured the muon polarization at the production location to be P 0 μ = 0.52 ± 0.02 ( stat + syst ) at the muon momentum of 0.9 0.1 + 0.6 TeV / c at the surface of the mountain; this also suggests a tension with the Honda flux model of 1.5 σ . This is the most precise measurement ever to experimentally determine the cosmic-ray muon polarization near 1 TeV / c . These measurement results are useful to improve atmospheric neutrino simulations. Published by the American Physical Society2024 
    more » « less
  3. Abstract Preceding a core-collapse supernova (CCSN), various processes produce an increasing amount of neutrinos of all flavors characterized by mounting energies from the interior of massive stars. Among them, the electron antineutrinos are potentially detectable by terrestrial neutrino experiments such as KamLAND and Super-Kamiokande (SK) via inverse beta decay interactions. Once these pre-supernova (pre-SN) neutrinos are observed, an early warning of the upcoming CCSN can be provided. In light of this, KamLAND and SK, both located in the Kamioka mine in Japan, have been monitoring pre-SN neutrinos since 2015 and 2021, respectively. Recently, we performed a joint study between KamLAND and SK on pre-SN neutrino detection. A pre-SN alert system combining the KamLAND detector and the SK detector was developed and put into operation, which can provide a supernova alert to the astrophysics community. Fully leveraging the complementary properties of these two detectors, the combined alert is expected to resolve a pre-SN neutrino signal from a 15Mstar within 510 pc of the Earth at a significance level corresponding to a false alarm rate of no more than 1 per century. For a Betelgeuse-like model with optimistic parameters, it can provide early warnings up to 12 hr in advance. 
    more » « less
  4. The Super-Kamiokande and T2K Collaborations present a joint measurement of neutrino oscillation parameters from their atmospheric and beam neutrino data. It uses a common interaction model for events overlapping in neutrino energy and correlated detector systematic uncertainties between the two datasets, which are found to be compatible. Using 3244.4 days of atmospheric data and a beam exposure of 19.7 ( 16.3 ) × 10 20 protons on target in (anti)neutrino mode, the analysis finds a 1.9 σ exclusion of C P conservation (defined as J C P = 0 ) and a 1.2 σ exclusion of the inverted mass ordering. Published by the American Physical Society2025 
    more » « less
    Free, publicly-accessible full text available January 1, 2026