Particle Physics in Birmingham

Particle Physics Seminar

Wednesday 18th March 2020 at 13:30
Poynting Small Lecture Theatre

(tea, coffee and biscuits served at 13:15)

Search for Sterile Neutrinos in MINOS and MINOS+ Using a Two-Detector Fit

Leigh Whitehead (Cambridge University)


Abstract

A search for mixing between active neutrinos and light sterile neutrinos has been performed by looking for muon neutrino disappearance in two detectors at baselines of 1.04 and 735 km, using a combined MINOS and MINOS+ exposure of 16.36 x 10^20 protons on target. A simultaneous fit to the charged-current muon neutrino and neutral-current neutrino energy spectra in the two detectors yields no evidence for sterile neutrino mixing using a 3+1 model. The most stringent limit to date is set on the mixing parameter sin^2(theta_(24)) for most values of the sterile neutrino mass splitting delta m^2_(41) gt 10^(-4) eV^2.