Paper detail

Flavor sensitivity to theta_13 and the mass hierarchy for neutrinos from solar WIMP annihilation

The effect of the higher-energy 2nd resonance and the associated adiabatic-to-nonadiabatic transition on neutrino propagation in solar matter is presented. For WIMP-annihilation neutrinos injected with energies in the "sweet region" between 300 MeV and 10 GeV at the Sun's center, a significant and revealing dependence on the neutrino mass hierarchy and the mixing angle theta_13 down to 0.5 degrees is found in the flavor ratios arriving at Earth. In addition, the amplification of flavor ratios in the sweet region allows a better discrimination among possible annihilation modes of the solar dark matter. Under mild assumptions on WIMP properties, it is estimated that 200 neutrino events in the sweet region would be required for inferences of theta_13, the mass hierarchy, and the dominant WIMP annihilation mode. Future large-volume, low-energy neutrino detectors are likely needed if the measurement is to be made.