We study the potential of the CNGS beam in constraining the parameter space of a model with one sterile neutrino separated from three active ones by an (eV 2) mass-squared difference, Δ m SBL2. We perform our analysis using the OPERA detector as a reference (our analysis can be upgraded including a detailed simulation of the ICARUS detector). We point out that the channel with the largest potential to constrain the sterile neutrino parameter space at the CNGS beam is ν μν τ. The reason for that is twofold: first, the active-sterile mixing angle that governs this oscillation is the less constrained by present experiments; second, this is the signal for which both OPERA and ICARUS have been designed, and thus benefits from an extremely low background. In our analysis we also took into account ν μν e oscillations. We find that the CNGS potential to look for sterile neutrinos is limited with nominal intensity of the beam, but it is significantly enhanced with a factor 2 to 10 increase in the neutrino flux. Data from both channels allow us, in this case, to constrain further the four-neutrino model parameter space. Our results hold for any value of Δ m SBL20.1eV 2, i.e. when oscillations driven by this mass-squared difference are averaged. We have also checked that the bound on θ 13 that can be put at the CNGS is not affected by the possible existence of sterile neutrinos. © SISSA 2007.
Donini, A., Maltoni, M., Meloni, D., Migliozzi, P., Terranova, F. (2007). Sterile neutrinos at the CNGS. JOURNAL OF HIGH ENERGY PHYSICS, 2007(12) [10.1088/1126-6708/2007/12/013].
Sterile neutrinos at the CNGS
TERRANOVA, FRANCESCO
2007
Abstract
We study the potential of the CNGS beam in constraining the parameter space of a model with one sterile neutrino separated from three active ones by an (eV 2) mass-squared difference, Δ m SBL2. We perform our analysis using the OPERA detector as a reference (our analysis can be upgraded including a detailed simulation of the ICARUS detector). We point out that the channel with the largest potential to constrain the sterile neutrino parameter space at the CNGS beam is ν μν τ. The reason for that is twofold: first, the active-sterile mixing angle that governs this oscillation is the less constrained by present experiments; second, this is the signal for which both OPERA and ICARUS have been designed, and thus benefits from an extremely low background. In our analysis we also took into account ν μν e oscillations. We find that the CNGS potential to look for sterile neutrinos is limited with nominal intensity of the beam, but it is significantly enhanced with a factor 2 to 10 increase in the neutrino flux. Data from both channels allow us, in this case, to constrain further the four-neutrino model parameter space. Our results hold for any value of Δ m SBL20.1eV 2, i.e. when oscillations driven by this mass-squared difference are averaged. We have also checked that the bound on θ 13 that can be put at the CNGS is not affected by the possible existence of sterile neutrinos. © SISSA 2007.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.