Search for a Light Sterile Neutrino at Daya Bay

Journal Article · Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 2014 · Physical Review Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.113.141802· OSTI ID:1594444

An, F. P. ^[1]; Balantekin, A. B.; Band, H. R.; Beriguete, W.; Bishai, M.; Blyth, S.; Butorov, I.; Cao, G. F.; Cao, J.; Chan, Y. L.; Chang, J. F.; Chang, L. C.; Chang, Y.; Chasman, C.; Chen, H.; Chen, Q. Y.; Chen, S. M.; Chen, X.; Chen, X.; Chen, Y. X. ; Chen, Y.; Cheng, Y. P.; Cherwinka, J. J.; Chu, M. C.; Cummings, J. P.; de Arcos, J.; Deng, Z. Y.; Ding, Y. Y.; Diwan, M. V.; Draeger, E.; Du, X. F.; Dwyer, D. A.; Edwards, W. R.; Ely, S. R.; Fu, J. Y.; Ge, L. Q.; Gill, R.; Gonchar, M.; Gong, G. H.; Gong, H.; Grassi, M.; Gu, W. Q.; Guan, M. Y.; Guo, X. H.; Hackenburg, R. W.; Han, G. H.; Hans, S.; He, M.; Heeger, K. M.; Heng, Y. K.; Hinrichs, P.; Hor, Y. K.; Hsiung, Y. B.; Hu, B. Z.; Hu, L. M.; Hu, L. J.; Hu, T.; Hu, W.; Huang, E. C.; Huang, H.; Huang, X. T.; Huber, P.; Hussain, G.; Isvan, Z.; Jaffe, D. E.; Jaffke, P.; Jen, K. L.; Jetter, S.; Ji, X. P.; Ji, X. L.; Jiang, H. J.; Jiao, J. B.; Johnson, R. A.; Kang, L.; Kettell, S. H.; Kramer, M.; Kwan, K. K.; Kwok, M. W.; Kwok, T.; Lai, W. C.; Lau, K.; Lebanowski, L.; Lee, J.; Lei, R. T.; Leitner, R.; Leung, A.; Leung, J. K. C.; Lewis, C. A.; Li, D. J.; Li, F.; Li, G. S.; Li, Q. J.; Li, W. D.; Li, X. N.; Li, X. Q.; Li, Y. F.; Li, Z. B.; Liang, H.; Lin, C. J.; Lin, G. L.; Lin, P. Y.; Lin, S. K.; Lin, Y. C.; Ling, J. J.; Link, J. M.; Littenberg, L.; Littlejohn, B. R.; Liu, D. W.; Liu, H.; Liu, J. L.; Liu, J. C.; Liu, S. S.; Liu, Y. B.; Lu, C.; Lu, H. Q.; Luk, K. B.; Ma, Q. M.; Ma, X. Y.; Ma, X. B.; Ma, Y. Q.; McDonald, K. T.; McFarlane, M. C.; McKeown, R. D.; Meng, Y.; Mitchell, I.; Monari Kebwaro, J.; Nakajima, Y.; Napolitano, J.; Naumov, D.; Naumova, E.; Nemchenok, I.; Ngai, H. Y.; Ning, Z.; Ochoa-Ricoux, J. P.; Olshevski, A.; Patton, S.; Pec, V.; Peng, J. C.; Piilonen, L. E.; Pinsky, L.; Pun, C. S. J.; Qi, F. Z.; Qi, M.; Qian, X.; Raper, N.; Ren, B.; Ren, J.; Rosero, R.; Roskovec, B.; Ruan, X. C.; Shao, B. B.; Steiner, H.; Sun, G. X.; Sun, J. L.; Tam, Y. H.; Tang, X.; Themann, H.; Tsang, K. V.; Tsang, R. H. M.; Tull, C. E.; Tung, Y. C.; Viren, B.; Vorobel, V.; Wang, C. H.; Wang, L. S.; Wang, L. Y.; Wang, M.; Wang, N. Y.; Wang, R. G.; Wang, W.; Wang, W. W.; Wang, X.; Wang, Y. F.; Wang, Z.; Wang, Z.; Wang, Z. M.; Webber, D. M.; Wei, H. Y.; Wei, Y. D.; Wen, L. J.; Whisnant, K.; White, C. G.; Whitehead, L.; Wise, T.; Wong, H. L. H.; Wong, S. C. F.; Worcester, E.; Wu, Q.; Xia, D. M.; Xia, J. K.; Xia, X.; Xing, Z. Z.; Xu, J. Y.; Xu, J. L.; Xu, J.; Xu, Y.; Xue, T.; Yan, J.; Yang, C. C.; Yang, L.; Yang, M. S.; Yang, M. T.; Ye, M.; Yeh, M.; Yeh, Y. S.; Young, B. L.; Yu, G. Y.; Yu, J. Y.; Yu, Z. Y.; Zang, S. L.; Zeng, B.; Zhan, L.; Zhang, C.; Zhang, F. H.; Zhang, J. W.; Zhang, Q. M.; Zhang, Q.; Zhang, S. H.; Zhang, Y. C.; Zhang, Y. M.; Zhang, Y. H.; Zhang, Y. X.; Zhang, Z. J.; Zhang, Z. Y.; Zhang, Z. P.; Zhao, J.; Zhao, Q. W.; Zhao, Y.; Zhao, Y. B.; Zheng, L.; Zhong, W. L.; Zhou, L.; Zhou, Z. Y.; Zhuang, H. L.; Zou, J. H.

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1. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

In this study, a search for light sterile neutrino mixing was performed with the first 217 days of data from the Daya Bay Reactor Antineutrino Experiment. The experiment’s unique configuration of multiple baselines from six 2.9 ${\mathrm{GW}}_{\mathrm{th}}$ nuclear reactors to six antineutrino detectors deployed in two near (effective baselines 512 m and 561 m) and one far (1579 m) underground experimental halls makes it possible to test for oscillations to a fourth (sterile) neutrino in the ${10}^{-3}{\mathrm{eV}}^2<\left|\mathrm{\Delta }{m}_{41}^2\right|<0.3{\mathrm{eV}}^2$ range. The relative spectral distortion due to the disappearance of electron antineutrinos was found to be consistent with that of the three-flavor oscillation model. The derived limits on ${\sin }^{2}2{\theta }_{14}$ cover the ${10}^{-3}{\mathrm{eV}}^2\lesssim \left|\mathrm{\Delta }{m}_{41}^2\right|\lesssim 0.1{\mathrm{eV}}^2$ region, which was largely unexplored.

• Research Organization: Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State Univ. (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC), High Energy Physics (HEP) (SC-25)
• Contributing Organization: Daya Bay Collaboration
• Grant/Contract Number: SC0009973
• OSTI ID: 1594444
• Alternate ID(s): OSTI ID: 1180441
• Journal Information: Physical Review Letters, Journal Name: Physical Review Letters Journal Issue: 14 Vol. 113; ISSN 0031-9007; ISSN PRLTAO
• Publisher: American Physical Society (APS)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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