Decaying Sterile Neutrinos and the Short Baseline Oscillation Anomalies

The MiniBooNE experiment has observed a significant excess of electron neutrinos in a muon neutrino beam, in conflict with standard neutrino oscillations. We discuss the possibility that this excess is explained by a sterile neutrino with a mass ∼1  keV that decays quickly back into active neutrinos...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Dentler, Mona, Esteban, Ivan, Kopp, Joachim, Machado, Pedro
Lenguaje:eng
Publicado: 2019
Materias:
hep-ex
Particle Physics - Experiment
hep-ph
Particle Physics - Phenomenology
Acceso en línea:https://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.101.115013
http://cds.cern.ch/record/2702131
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author Dentler, Mona
Esteban, Ivan
Kopp, Joachim
Machado, Pedro
author_facet Dentler, Mona
Esteban, Ivan
Kopp, Joachim
Machado, Pedro
author_sort Dentler, Mona
collection CERN
description The MiniBooNE experiment has observed a significant excess of electron neutrinos in a muon neutrino beam, in conflict with standard neutrino oscillations. We discuss the possibility that this excess is explained by a sterile neutrino with a mass ∼1  keV that decays quickly back into active neutrinos plus a new light boson. This scenario satisfies terrestrial and cosmological constraints because it has neutrino self-interactions built-in. Accommodating also the LSND, reactor, and gallium anomalies is possible, but requires an extension of the model to avoid cosmological limits.
id cern-2702131
institution Organización Europea para la Investigación Nuclear
language eng
publishDate 2019
record_format invenio
spelling cern-27021312022-05-11T02:26:20Zdoi:10.1103/PhysRevD.101.115013http://cds.cern.ch/record/2702131engDentler, MonaEsteban, IvanKopp, JoachimMachado, PedroDecaying Sterile Neutrinos and the Short Baseline Oscillation Anomalieshep-exParticle Physics - Experimenthep-phParticle Physics - PhenomenologyThe MiniBooNE experiment has observed a significant excess of electron neutrinos in a muon neutrino beam, in conflict with standard neutrino oscillations. We discuss the possibility that this excess is explained by a sterile neutrino with a mass ∼1  keV that decays quickly back into active neutrinos plus a new light boson. This scenario satisfies terrestrial and cosmological constraints because it has neutrino self-interactions built-in. Accommodating also the LSND, reactor, and gallium anomalies is possible, but requires an extension of the model to avoid cosmological limits.The MiniBooNE experiment has observed a significant excess of electron neutrinos in a muon neutrino beam at source-detector distances too short to be compatible with standard neutrino oscillations. The most straightforward explanation for this signal in terms of oscillations between Standard Model neutrinos and a new, sterile, neutrino, is disfavored by null results from experiments looking for muon neutrino disappearance. Here, we discuss the possibility that MiniBooNE data are instead explained by a sterile neutrino that decays quickly back into active neutrinos plus a light boson. The flavor composition of the secondary neutrinos is determined by the sterile neutrino mixing angles, and we show that the data is best explained if the sterile neutrino mixes mostly with electron neutrinos. The preferred range for the mass of the sterile neutrino is between 100 eV and 1 keV. We argue that the model can easily satisfy cosmological constraints because it has the "secret interactions" mechanism built-in. Accommodating in addition to the MiniBooNE anomaly also the LSND, reactor, and gallium anomalies is possible, but in this case the model needs to be extended to avoid cosmological limits.arXiv:1911.01427FERMILAB-PUB-19-538-Toai:cds.cern.ch:27021312019-11-04
spellingShingle hep-ex
Particle Physics - Experiment
hep-ph
Particle Physics - Phenomenology
Dentler, Mona
Esteban, Ivan
Kopp, Joachim
Machado, Pedro
Decaying Sterile Neutrinos and the Short Baseline Oscillation Anomalies
title Decaying Sterile Neutrinos and the Short Baseline Oscillation Anomalies
title_full Decaying Sterile Neutrinos and the Short Baseline Oscillation Anomalies
title_fullStr Decaying Sterile Neutrinos and the Short Baseline Oscillation Anomalies
title_full_unstemmed Decaying Sterile Neutrinos and the Short Baseline Oscillation Anomalies
title_short Decaying Sterile Neutrinos and the Short Baseline Oscillation Anomalies
title_sort decaying sterile neutrinos and the short baseline oscillation anomalies
topic hep-ex
Particle Physics - Experiment
hep-ph
Particle Physics - Phenomenology
url https://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.101.115013
http://cds.cern.ch/record/2702131
work_keys_str_mv AT dentlermona decayingsterileneutrinosandtheshortbaselineoscillationanomalies
AT estebanivan decayingsterileneutrinosandtheshortbaselineoscillationanomalies
AT koppjoachim decayingsterileneutrinosandtheshortbaselineoscillationanomalies
AT machadopedro decayingsterileneutrinosandtheshortbaselineoscillationanomalies

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