This thesis, encompassing both theory to experiment, guides the reader in a pedagogical way through the author’s attempts to resolve the mystery of the so-called MiniBooNE anomaly, where unexpected neutrino oscillations were reported, potentially explainable by the existence of light sterile neutrinos, but in contradiction with several null results. Within this context, this thesis reports one of the first analyses searching for an excess of electrons in the MicroBooNE experiment finding no excess of events and narrowing down the possible explanations for the anomaly. Additionally, this thesis explores non-minimal heavy neutral leptons as potential explanations for the MiniBooNE excess. To search for evidence for this particle, the author performs an analysis using data from the T2K experiment, which searched for pairs of electrons using a gas argon time projection. This thesis provides a comprehensive explanation of the MiniBooNE anomaly and test of its possibile explanation with liquid and gas time projection chambers.

This eBook is a collection of articles from a Frontiers Research Topic. Frontiers Research Topics are very popular trademarks of the Frontiers Journals Series: they are collections of at least ten articles, all centered on a particular subject. With their unique mix of varied contributions from Original Research to Review Articles, Frontiers Research Topics unify the most influential researchers, the latest key findings and historical advances in a hot research area! Find out more on how to host your own Frontiers Research Topic or contribute to one as an author by contacting the Frontiers Editorial Office: frontiersin.org/about/contact.

This volume is a compilation of lectures delivered at the TASI 2016 summer school, 'Anticipating the Next Discoveries in Particle Physics', held at the University of Colorado at Boulder in June 2016. The school focused on topics in theoretical particle physics, phenomenology, dark matter, and cosmology of interest to contemporary researchers in these fields. The lectures are accessible to graduate students in the initial stages of their research careers.

Our Universe is made of a dozen fundamental building blocks. Among these, neutrinos are the most mysterious - but they are the second most abundant particles in the Universe. This book provides detailed discussions of how to describe neutrinos, their basic properties, and the roles they play in nature.

The second set of The Encyclopedia of Cosmology, in three volumes, continues this major, long-lasting, seminal reference at the graduate student level laid out by the most prominent researchers in the general field of cosmology. Together, these volumes will be a comprehensive review of the most important current topics in cosmology, discussing the important concepts and current status in each field, covering both theory and observation.These three volumes are edited by Dr Giovanni Fazio from the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, with each volume authored or edited by specialists in the area: Modified Gravity by Claudia de Rham and Andrew Tolley (Imperial College), Neutrino Physics and Astrophysics edited by Floyd Stecker (NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center), Black Holes edited by Zoltan Haiman (Columbia University). These volumes follow the earlier publication in 2020 of The Encyclopedia of Cosmology, which comprises the following four volumes: Galaxy Formation and Evolution by Rennan Barkana (Tel Aviv University), Numerical Simulations in Cosmology edited by Kentaro Nagamine (Osaka University / University of Nevada), Dark Energy by Shinji Tsujikawa (Tokyo University of Science), and Dark Matter by Jihn E Kim (Seoul National University). The Encyclopedia aims to provide an overview of the most important topics in cosmology and serve as an up-to-date reference in astrophysics.

This thesis highlights data from MINOS, a long-baseline accelerator neutrino experiment, and details one of the most sensitive searches for the sterile neutrino ever made. Further, it presents a new analysis paradigm to enable this measurement and a comprehensive study of the myriad systematic uncertainties involved in a search for a few-percent effect, while also rigorously investigating the statistical interpretation of the findings in the context of a sterile neutrino model. Among the scientific community, this analysis was quickly recognized as a foundational measurement in light of which all previous evidence for the sterile neutrino must now be (re)interpreted. The existence of sterile neutrinos has long been one of the key questions in the field. Not only are they a central component in many theories of new physics, but a number of past experiments have yielded results consistent with their existence. Nonetheless, they remain controversial: the interpretation of the data showing evidence for these sterile neutrinos is hotly debated.

Reviews the current state of knowledge of neutrino masses and the related question of neutrino oscillations. After an overview of the theory of neutrino masses and mixings, detailed accounts are given of the laboratory limits on neutrino masses, astrophysical and cosmological constraints on those masses, experimental results on neutrino oscillations, the theoretical interpretation of those results, and theoretical models of neutrino masses and mixings. The book concludes with an examination of the potential of long-baseline experiments. This is an essential reference text for workers in elementary-particle physics, nuclear physics, and astrophysics.

These two volumes present the proceedings of the International Conference on Technology and Instrumentation in Particle Physics 2017 (TIPP2017), which was held in Beijing, China from 22 to 26 May 2017. Gathering selected articles on the basis of their quality and originality, it highlights the latest developments and research trends in detectors and instrumentation for all branches of particle physics, particle astrophysics and closely related fields. This is the second volume, and focuses on the main themes Astrophysics and space instrumentation, Front-end electronics and fast data transmission, Trigger and data acquisition systems, Machine detectors, Interfaces and beam instrumentation, Backend readout structures and embedded systems, Medical imaging, and Security & other applications. The TIPP2017 is the fourth in a series of international conferences on detectors and instrumentation, held under the auspices of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP). The event brings together experts from the scientific and industrial communities to discuss their current efforts and plan for the future. The conference’s aim is to provide a stimulating atmosphere for scientists and engineers from around the world.