Testing Non-Standard Cosmologies with Neutrino Mass Anomalies: An Integrated Astrophysical-Laboratory Approach

Recent cosmological analyses (see Wang et al. 2024, Green & Meyers 2024, Jiang et al. 2024) find upper limits on the sum of neutrino masses that are in direct tension with the minimum masses required by oscillation experiments (e.g., T2K, IceCube). This persistent discrepancy—where cosmology sometimes even prefers "negative" neutrino masses due to excess CMB lensing—suggests the possibility of new physics either in neutrino properties or cosmological models themselves. This project proposes a coordinated, global-fit framework combining laboratory oscillation and mass measurements (KATRIN, T2K, IceCube) with cosmological data, but with explicit inclusion of non-standard cosmological scenarios (e.g., modified gravity, non-minimal dark energy, exotic neutrino interactions or decays). The goal is to systematically test which extensions to ΛCDM can naturally reconcile these conflicting results, and to forecast which future observations (e.g., DESI, CMB-S4, next-gen tritium decay) are most diagnostic. It differs from current work by treating the tension as a diagnostic tool rather than just a nuisance, and by integrating particle physics and cosmology data at the likelihood level. If successful, it could reveal hidden sectors or new neutrino properties, or place powerful constraints on cosmological extensions.

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