Neutrino Masses and Mass Hierarchy: Evidence for the Normal Hierarchy

Abstract

The latest cosmological constraints on the sum of neutrino masses, in combination with the latest laboratory measurements on oscillations, provide ``decisive" Bayesian evidence for the normal neutrino mass hierarchy. We show that this result holds across very different prior alternatives by exploring two extremes on the range of prior choices. In fact, while the specific numerical value for the Evidence depends on the choice of prior, the Bayesian odds remain greater than 140:1 across very different prior choices. For Majorana neutrinos this has important implications for the upper limit of the neutrino-less double beta decay half life and thus for the technology and resources needed for future double beta decay experiments.

Matches accepted version to JCAP. Conclusions and results unchanged

References in corpus (4)

• Massive neutrinos and cosmology
• The formal definition of reference priors
• On model selection forecasting, Dark Energy and modified gravity
• Cosmology-marginalized approaches in Bayesian model comparison: the neutrino mass as a case study

Cited by in corpus (15)

• DESI 2024 VI: Cosmological Constraints from the Measurements of Baryon Acoustic Oscillations
• Is the Observable Universe Consistent with the Cosmological Principle?
• Cosmological parameters derived from the final (PR4) Planck data release
• Neutrino cosmology after DESI: tightest mass upper limits, preference for the normal ordering, and tension with terrestrial observations
• Cosmological inference from the EFTofLSS: the eBOSS QSO full-shape analysis
• Updating non-standard neutrinos properties with Planck-CMB data and full-shape analysis of BOSS and eBOSS galaxies
• Neutrino mass and mass ordering: No conclusive evidence for normal ordering
• Entanglement in three-flavor collective neutrino oscillations
• DEMNUni: comparing nonlinear power spectra prescriptions in the presence of massive neutrinos and dynamical dark energy
• Quantifying the tension between cosmological and terrestrial constraints on neutrino masses
• Revisiting the impact of neutrino mass hierarchies on neutrino mass constraints in light of recent DESI data
• Exploiting stellar explosion induced by the QCD phase transition in large-scale neutrino detectors
• Distinguishing Dirac vs. Majorana Neutrinos: a Cosmological Probe
• Chiral symmetry breaking and pion condensation in the early universe
• Fermion masses and mixings and $g-2$ muon anomaly in a $Q_6$ flavored 2HDM