Proposal for an electron antineutrino disappearance search using high-rate 8Li production and decay

Area of Science:

• Particle Physics
• Experimental Physics
• Cosmology

Background:

• The Standard Model of particle physics does not include sterile neutrinos, hypothetical particles that do not interact via the weak force.
• Searches for sterile neutrinos are crucial for understanding neutrino physics beyond the Standard Model and potentially explaining dark matter.
• Previous experiments have provided hints but no definitive evidence for sterile neutrinos.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a novel experimental approach for probing sterile neutrinos.
• To achieve unprecedented sensitivity to sterile neutrino oscillations.
• To differentiate between scenarios with zero, one, or two sterile neutrinos.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing a high-intensity source of electron antineutrinos generated from the production and decay of Lithium-8 (8Li).
• Employing a large-scale (∼1 kton) scintillator-based detector.
• Studying the inverse beta decay interaction (electron antineutrino + proton → positron + neutron) to detect antineutrinos.

Main Results:

• The proposed experimental setup demonstrates unprecedented sensitivity to electron antineutrino disappearance at Δm2 ∼ 1 eV2.
• The experiment is capable of distinguishing between the existence of zero, one, or two sterile neutrinos.
• The 6.4 MeV average energy of the electron antineutrino source enables a wide range of beyond Standard Model physics searches.

Conclusions:

• This experimental design offers a promising new avenue for the direct detection of sterile neutrinos.
• The high-intensity 8Li source combined with a large detector provides a unique capability for sterile neutrino searches.
• The results could significantly impact our understanding of neutrino properties and new physics beyond the Standard Model.