Ερευνητικό υλικό ΕΚΠΑ

Search for sterile neutrino mixing in the MINOS long-baseline experiment

Αγγλικά

A search for depletion of the combined flux of active neutrino species
over a 735 km baseline is reported using neutral-current interaction
data recorded by the MINOS detectors in the NuMI neutrino beam. Such a
depletion is not expected according to conventional interpretations of
neutrino oscillation data involving the three known neutrino flavors. A
depletion would be a signature of oscillations or decay to postulated
noninteracting sterile neutrinos, scenarios not ruled out by existing
data. From an exposure of 3.18 x 10(20) protons on target in which
neutrinos of energies between similar to 500 MeV and 120 GeV are
produced predominantly as nu(mu), the visible energy spectrum of
candidate neutral-current reactions in the MINOS far detector is
reconstructed. Comparison of this spectrum to that inferred from a
similarly selected near-detector sample shows that of the portion of the
nu(mu) flux observed to disappear in charged-current interaction data,
the fraction that could be converting to a sterile state is less than
52% at 90% confidence level (C. L.). The hypothesis that active
neutrinos mix with a single sterile neutrino via oscillations is tested
by fitting the data to various models. In the particular four-neutrino
models considered, the mixing angles theta(24) and theta(34) are
constrained to be less than 11 degrees and 56 degrees at 90% C. L.,
respectively. The possibility that active neutrinos may decay to sterile
neutrinos is also investigated. Pure neutrino decay without oscillations
is ruled out at 5.4 standard deviations. For the scenario in which
active neutrinos decay into sterile states concurrently with neutrino
oscillations, a lower limit is established for the neutrino decay
lifetime tau(3)/m(3) > 2.1 x 10(-12) s/eV at 90% C.L.

2010

Adamson, P.
Andreopoulos, C.
Auty, D. J.
Ayres, D. S. and
Backhouse, C.
Barnes, Jr., P. D.
Barr, G.
Barrett, W. L. and
Bishai, M.
Blake, A.
Bock, G. J.
Boehnlein, D. J. and
Bogert, D.
Bower, C.
Cavanaugh, S.
Chapman, J. D. and
Cherdack, D.
Childress, S.
Choudhary, B. C.
Coelho, J. A. B.
and Cobb, J. H.
Coleman, S. J.
Cravens, J. P. and
Cronin-Hennessy, D.
Culling, A. J.
Danko, I. Z.
de Jong, J.
K.
Devenish, N. E.
Diwan, M. V.
Dorman, M.
Erwin, A. R.
and Escobar, C. O.
Evans, J. J.
Falk, E.
Feldman, G. J. and
Frohne, M. V.
Gallagher, H. R.
Godley, A.
Goodman, M. C. and
Gouffon, P.
Gran, R.
Grashorn, E. W.
Grzelak, K.
Habig,
A.
Harris, D.
Harris, P. G.
Hartnell, J.
Hatcher, R. and
Heller, K.
Himmel, A.
Holin, A.
Huang, X.
Hylen, J. and
Irwin, G. M.
Isvan, Z.
Jaffe, D. E.
James, C.
Jensen, D.
and Kafka, T.
Kasahara, S. M. S.
Koizumi, G.
Kopp, S. and
Kordosky, M.
Koskinen, D. J.
Krahn, Z.
Kreymer, A.
Lang,
K.
Ling, J.
Litchfield, P. J.
Litchfield, R. P. and
Loiacono, L.
Lucas, P.
Ma, J.
Mann, W. A.
Marchionni, A.
and Marshak, M. L.
Marshall, J. S.
Mayer, N.
McGowan, A. M.
and Mehdiyev, R.
Meier, J. R.
Messier, M. D.
Metelko, C. J.
and Michael, D. G.
Miller, W. H.
Mishra, S. R.
Mitchell, J.
and Moore, C. D.
Morfin, J.
Mualem, L.
Mufson, S. and
Musser, J.
Naples, D.
Nelson, J. K.
Newman, H. B. and
Nichol, R. J.
Nicholls, T. C.
Ochoa-Ricoux, J. P.
Oliver, W.
P.
Orchanian, M.
Osiecki, T.
Ospanov, R.
Paley, J. and
Paolone, V.
Patterson, R. B.
Pavlovic, Z.
Pawloski, G. and
Pearce, G. F.
Pittam, R.
Plunkett, R. K.
Rahaman, A. and
Rameika, R. A.
Raufer, T. M.
Rebel, B.
Rodrigues, P. A. and
Rosenfeld, C.
Rubin, H. A.
Ryabov, V. A.
Sanchez, M. C. and
Saoulidou, N.
Schneps, J.
Schreiner, P.
Shanahan, P. and
Smart, W.
Smith, C.
Sousa, A.
Stamoulis, P.
Strait, M.
and Tagg, N.
Talaga, R. L.
Thomas, J.
Thomson, M. A. and
Tinti, G.
Toner, R.
Tzanakos, G.
Urheim, J.
Vahle, P.
and Viren, B.
Watabe, M.
Weber, A.
Webb, R. C.
West, N.
and White, C.
Whitehead, L.
Wojcicki, S. G.
Wright, D. M.
and Yang, T.
Zhang, K.
Zwaska, R.
MINOS Collaboration

Physical Review D

AMER PHYSICAL SOC

81

5

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.81.052004

10.1103/PhysRevD.81.052004

https://pergamos.lib.uoa.gr/uoa/dl/object/3145411