Search for active-sterile neutrino mixing using neutral-current interactions in NOvA

  • P. Adamson
  • , L. Aliaga
  • , D. Ambrose
  • , N. Anfimov
  • , A. Antoshkin
  • , E. Arrieta-Diaz
  • , K. Augsten
  • , A. Aurisano
  • , C. Backhouse
  • , M. Baird
  • , B. A. Bambah
  • , K. Bays
  • , B. Behera
  • , S. Bending
  • , R. Bernstein
  • , V. Bhatnagar
  • , B. Bhuyan
  • , J. Bian
  • , T. Blackburn
  • , A. Bolshakova
  • C. Bromberg, J. Brown, G. Brunetti, N. Buchanan, A. Butkevich, V. Bychkov, M. Campbell, E. Catano-Mur, S. Childress, B. C. Choudhary, B. Chowdhury, T. E. Coan, J. A.B. Coelho, M. Colo, J. Cooper, L. Corwin, L. Cremonesi, D. Cronin-Hennessy, G. S. Davies, J. P. Davies, P. F. Derwent, R. Dharmapalan, P. Ding, Z. Djurcic, A. Habig, K. Heller, M. L. Marshak, G. Pawloski, R. Poling, M. Strait, (The NOvA Collaboration)

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

75 Scopus citations

Abstract

We report results from the first search for sterile neutrinos mixing with active neutrinos through a reduction in the rate of neutral-current interactions over a baseline of 810 km between the NOvA detectors. Analyzing a 14-kton detector equivalent exposure of 6.05×1020 protons-on-target in the NuMI beam at Fermilab, we observe 95 neutral-current candidates at the Far Detector compared with 83.5±9.7(stat)±9.4(syst) events predicted assuming mixing only occurs between active neutrino species. No evidence for νμ→νs transitions is found. Interpreting these results within a 3+1 model, we place constraints on the mixing angles θ24<20.8° and θ34<31.2° at the 90% C.L. for 0.05 eV2≤Δm412≤0.5 eV2, the range of mass splittings that produce no significant oscillations over the Near Detector baseline.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number072006
JournalPhysical Review D
Volume96
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 30 2017

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 American Physical Society.

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