Sterile neutrinos and the global reactor antineutrino dataset

We present results from global fits to the available reactor antineutrino dataset, as of Fall 2019, to determine the global preference for a fourth, sterile neutrino. We have separately considered experiments that measure the integrated inverse-beta decay (IBD) rate from those that measure the energy spectrum of IBD events at one or more locations. The evidence that we infer from rate measurements varies between ≲ 3σ and negligible depending on the reactor antineutrino flux model employed. Moreover, we find that spectral ratios ostensibly imply ≳ 3σ evidence, consistent with previous work, though these measurements are known to be plagued by issues related to statistical interpretation; these results should therefore be viewed cautiously. The software used is the newly developed GLoBESfit tool set which is based on the publicly available GLoBES framework and will be released as open-source software.

Design and first tests of the S3 detector of reactor antineutrinos

The new experiment S3 devoted to the study of reactor antineutrinos was designed and constructed as a common activity of IEAP CTU in Prague and JINR (Dubna). The S3 detector is a compact, highly segmented polystyrene-based scintillating detector composed of 80 detector elements with a gadolinium neutron converter between elements layers. A positron and a neutron are produced in an inverse beta decay initiated with an electron antineutrino in the detector. A modular multi-channel fast ADC was developed for the data acquisition for the whole 80-channel S3 detector and the 4-channel cosmic veto system. The detector meets very strict safety rules of nuclear power plants and can be installed in a chamber located immediately under the reactor. The close vicinity from the reactor enables to study neutrino properties with a higher efficiency, to investigate neutrino oscillations at short baselines and try to verify the hypothesis of a sterile neutrino. The details of the design and construction of the S3 detector, as well as properties of the modular multi-channel fast ADC system, and first tests of the device are presented.

New results from the DANSS experiment

We present new results of the DANSS experiment on the searches for sterile neutrinos. They are based on more than 2 million of inverse beta decay events collected at 10.7 m, 11.7 m and 12.7 m from the reactor core of the 3.1 GW Kalinin Nuclear Power Plant in Russia. This data sample is 2.4 times larger than the data sample in the previous DANSS publication. The search for the sterile neutrinos is performed using the ratio of [Formula: see text] spectra at two distances. This method is very robust against systematic uncertainties in the [Formula: see text] spectrum and the detector efficiency. We do not see any statistically significant sign for the [Formula: see text] oscillations. This allows us to exclude further a large and interesting part of the sterile neutrino parameter space. A Gaussian CL[Formula: see text] method was used to obtain exclusion areas. This method is more conservative than a Raster Scan method.

On the Free Neutron Decay with Neutrino(s) Interactions

This paper proposes a mechanism for the decay of free neutron with interactions with neutrino(s). A mathematical framework is developed using canonical ensemble framework for the interactions. Probability distribution of neutron discrete energy states has been derived which is a function of neutrino-zeta – a macroscopic property of neutrinos. Consequently, a relationship between neutron decay constant and probability of neutron beta decay is provided, assuming linear proportionality. Furthermore, qualitative explanation of neutron lifetime puzzle, where discrepancy in lifetime measurements based on measurement method (Bottle vs Beam), is related to neutrino microscopic cross-sections. In addition, inverse beta-decay reaction of proton and beta-negative and beta-positive reaction of radionuclides have been analyzed using the proposed mechanism. The probabilities of beta-negative and beta-positive reactions in nature are qualitatively in agreement with the proposed mechanism. Lastly, way to test the mechanism experimentally with reactor neutrinos and neutrino beams has been presented.

Searches for sterile neutrinos at the DANSS experiment

DANSS is a highly segmented 1 m3 plastic scintillator detector. The DANSS detector is placed under an industrial 3.1 GWth reactor of the Kalinin Nuclear Power Plant 350 km NW from Moscow. The distance to the core is varied on-line from 10.7 m to 12.7 m. The reactor building provides about 50 m water-equivalent shielding against the cosmic background. DANSS detects almost 5000 νe per day at the closest position with the cosmic background less than 3%. The inverse beta decay process is used to detect νe. Sterile neutrinos are searched for assuming the 4ν model (3 active and 1 sterile ν). The exclusion area in the Δm142,sin22θ14 plane is obtained using a ratio of positron energy spectra collected at different distances. Therefore results do not depend on the shape and normalization of the reactor νe spectrum nor the detector efficiency. Results are based on 966 thousand antineutrino events collected at three different distances from the reactor core. The excluded area covers a wide range of the sterile neutrino parameters down to sin22θ14 < 0.01 in the most sensitive region.

Towards a reconstruction of Supernova Neutrino Spectra in JUNO

Observation of supernovae (SN) through their neutrino emission is a fundamental point to understand both SN dynamics and neutrino physical properties. JUNO is a 20kton liquid scintillator detector, under construction in Jiangmen, China. The main aim of the experiment is to determine neutrino mass hierarchy by precisely measuring the energy spectrum of reactor electron antineutrinos. However due to its properties, JUNO has the capability of detecting a high statistics of SN events too. Existing data from SN neutrino consists only of 24 events coming from the SN 1987A,the detection of a SN burst in JUNO at ~ 10kpc will yield ~ 5x103 inverse beta decay (IBD) events from electron antineutrinos, about 1500 from proton elastic scattering (pES) above the threshold of 0.2 MeV, about 400 from electron elastic scattering (eES), plus several hundreds on other CC and NC interaction channels from all neutrino species.

Core-Collapse Supernova neutrino detection prospects with the KM3NeT neutrino telescopes.

Core Collapse Supernovae (CCSN) are explosive phenomena that may occur at the end of the life of massive stars, releasing over 99% of the energy through neutrino emission with energies on the 10 MeV scale. While the explosion mechanism is not fully understood, neutrinos are believed to play an important role. The only detection as of today are the 24 neutrinos from supernova SN1987A. The observation of the next Galactic CCSN will lead to important breakthroughs across the fields of astrophysics, nuclear and particle physics. For a Galactic CCSN, the KM3NeT ORCA and ARCA detectors in the Mediterranean Sea will observe a significant number of neutrinos via the detection of Cherenkov light, mostly induced by Inverse Beta Decay (IBD) interactions in sea water. The detection of coincident photons by the 31 photomultipliers of the KM3NeT digital optical modules (DOMs) allows to separate the signal from the optical background sources. The KM3NeT detection sensitivity to a Galactic CCSN and the potential to resolve the neutrino light-curve have been estimated exploiting detailed Monte-Carlo simulations. Specific criteria are proposed for the online triggering and the participation in the SNEWS network.

Core-Collapse Supernova neutrino detection with KM3NeT

Core Collapse Supernovae (CCSNe) are explosive phenomena that may occur at the end of the life of massive stars, releasing over 99% of the energy through neutrino emission. While the explosion mechanism is not fully understood, neutrinos are believed to play an important role. The only detection as of today are the 24 neutrinos from SN1987A. The observation of the next Galactic CCSN will lead to important breakthroughs in astroparticle physics. For a Galactic CCSN, the KM3NeT ORCA and ARCA detectors in the Mediterranean Sea will observe a significant neutrino signal via the detection of Cherenkov light, mostly induced by Inverse Beta Decay interactions in sea water. The detection of coincident photons by the 31 photomultipliers of each KM3NeT digital optical module (DOM) allows for an efficient discrimination of the optical backgrounds. The KM3NeT detection sensitivity to a Galactic CCSN and the potential to resolve the neutrino light-curve have been estimated relying on detailed Monte Carlo simulations. Specific criteria are proposed for the online triggering and the participation in the SNEWS network.