Search for active-sterile antineutrino mixing using neutral-current interactions with the NOvA experiment
Date
2021-11-11Author
Acero, Mario A.
Adamson, P.
Aliaga, Leo
Anfimov, Nikolay V.
Antoshkin, A.
Meyer, Holger
Muether, Mathew
Solomey, Nickolas
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Acero, M. A., Adamson, P., Aliaga, L., Anfimov, N., Antoshkin, A., Arrieta-Diaz, E., . . . (The NOvA Collaboration). (2021). Search for active-sterile antineutrino mixing using neutral-current interactions with the NOvA experiment. Physical Review Letters, 127(20) doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.127.201801
Abstract
This Letter reports results from the first long-baseline search for sterile antineutrinos mixing in an accelerator-based antineutrino-dominated beam. The rate of neutral-current interactions in the two NOvA detectors, at distances of 1 and 810 km from the beam source, is analyzed using an exposure of $12.51×10^{20}$ protons-on-target from the NuMI beam at Fermilab running in antineutrino mode. A total of 121 of neutral-current candidates are observed at the far detector, compared to a prediction of 122 ± 11(Stat. ) ± 15(Syst. ) assuming mixing only between three active flavors. No evidence for $\bar{\nu}_{\mu}\rightarrow\bar{\nu}_{s}$ oscillation is observed. Interpreting this result within 3 + 1 model, constraints are placed on the mixing angles ${\theta}_{24} < 25^{\circ}$ and ${\theta}_{34} <
32^{\circ}$ at the 90% C.L. for $0.05eV^{2} \leq \Delta m^{2}_{41} \leq 0.5,$ the range of mass splittings that produces no significant oscillations at the Near Detector. These are the first 3+1 confidence limits set using long-baseline accelerator antineutrinos.
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