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Title: Search for heavy neutral leptons decaying into muon-pion pairs in the MicroBooNE detector

Abstract

We present upper limits on the production of heavy neutral leptons (HNLs) decaying to $$\mu \pi$$ pairs using data collected with the MicroBooNE liquid-argon time projection chamber (TPC) operating at Fermilab. This search is the first of its kind performed in a liquid-argon TPC. We use data collected in 2017 and 2018 corresponding to an exposure of $$2.0 \times 10^{20}$$ protons on target from the Fermilab Booster Neutrino Beam, which produces mainly muon neutrinos with an average energy of $$\approx 800$$ MeV. HNLs with higher mass are expected to have a longer time-of-flight to the liquid-argon TPC than Standard Model neutrinos. The data are therefore recorded with a dedicated trigger configured to detect HNL decays that occur after the neutrino spill reaches the detector. We set upper limits at the $$90\%$$ confidence level on the element $$\lvert U_{\mu4}\rvert^2$$ of the extended PMNS mixing matrix in the range $$\lvert U_{\mu4}\rvert^2<(6.6$$-$$0.9)\times 10^{-7}$$ for Dirac HNLs and $$\lvert U_{\mu4}\rvert^2<(4.7$$-$$0.7)\times 10^{-7}$$ for Majorana HNLs, assuming HNL masses between $260$ and $385$ MeV and $$\lvert U_{e 4}\rvert^2 = \lvert U_{\tau 4}\rvert^2 = 0$$.

Authors:
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Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States); Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States); Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States); Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), High Energy Physics (HEP); National Science Foundation (NSF); Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF); Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC); The Royal Society; Albert Einstein Center for Fundamental Physics
Contributing Org.:
MicroBooNE; The MicroBooNE Collaboration
OSTI Identifier:
1603205
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1581416; OSTI ID: 1604314; OSTI ID: 1616125; OSTI ID: 1633962; OSTI ID: 1638451; OSTI ID: 1784026
Report Number(s):
FERMILAB-PUB-19-581-ND; arXiv:1911.10545; BNL-213709-2020-JAAM
Journal ID: ISSN 2470-0010; PRVDAQ; 052001
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC02-07CH11359; AC02-05CH11231; SC0007859; SC0012704; SC0007881; AC02-76SF00515
Resource Type:
Published Article
Journal Name:
Physical Review. D.
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Name: Physical Review. D. Journal Volume: 101 Journal Issue: 5; Journal ID: ISSN 2470-0010
Publisher:
American Physical Society (APS)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY; 72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS; Neutrino oscillations; Heavy neutrinos; Majorana neutrinos; Neutrinos; Sterile neutrinos

Citation Formats

Abratenko, P., Alrashed, M., An, R., Anthony, J., Asaadi, J., Ashkenazi, A., Balasubramanian, S., Baller, B., Barnes, C., Barr, G., Basque, V., Berkman, S., Bhanderi, A., Bhat, A., Bishai, M., Blake, A., Bolton, T., Camilleri, L., Caratelli, D., Caro Terrazas, I., Castillo Fernandez, R., Cavanna, F., Cerati, G., Chen, Y., Church, E., Cianci, D., Cohen, E. O., Conrad, J. M., Convery, M., Cooper-Troendle, L., Crespo-Anadón, J. I., Del Tutto, M., Devitt, D., Domine, L., Duffy, K., Dytman, S., Eberly, B., Ereditato, A., Escudero Sanchez, L., Evans, J. J., Fitzpatrick, R. S., Fleming, B. T., Foppiani, N., Franco, D., Furmanski, A. P., Garcia-Gamez, D., Gardiner, S., Genty, V., Goeldi, D., Gollapinni, S., Goodwin, O., Gramellini, E., Green, P., Greenlee, H., Gu, L., Gu, W., Guenette, R., Guzowski, P., Hamilton, P., Hen, O., Hill, C., Horton-Smith, G. A., Hourlier, A., Huang, E. -C., Itay, R., James, C., Jan de Vries, J., Ji, X., Jiang, L., Jo, J. H., Johnson, R. A., Joshi, J., Jwa, Y. -J., Karagiorgi, G., Ketchum, W., Kirby, B., Kirby, M., Kobilarcik, T., Kreslo, I., LaZur, R., Lepetic, I., Li, Y., Lister, A., Littlejohn, B. R., Lockwitz, S., Lorca, D., Louis, W. C., Luethi, M., Lundberg, B., Luo, X., Marchionni, A., Marcocci, S., Mariani, C., Marshall, J., Martin-Albo, J., Martinez Caicedo, D. A., Mason, K., Mastbaum, A., McConkey, N., Meddage, V., Mettler, T., Miller, K., Mills, J., Mistry, K., Mogan, A., Mohayai, T., Moon, J., Mooney, M., Moore, C. D., Mousseau, J., Murrells, R., Naples, D., Neely, R. K., Nienaber, P., Nowak, J., Palamara, O., Pandey, V., Paolone, V., Papadopoulou, A., Papavassiliou, V., Pate, S. F., Paudel, A., Pavlovic, Z., Piasetzky, E., Porzio, D., Prince, S., Pulliam, G., Qian, X., Raaf, J. L., Radeka, V., Rafique, A., Ren, L., Rochester, L., Rogers, H. E., Ross-Lonergan, M., Rudolf von Rohr, C., Russell, B., Scanavini, G., Schmitz, D. W., Schukraft, A., Seligman, W., Shaevitz, M. H., Sharankova, R., Sinclair, J., Smith, A., Snider, E. L., Soderberg, M., Söldner-Rembold, S., Soleti, S. R., Spentzouris, P., Spitz, J., Stancari, M., John, J. St., Strauss, T., Sutton, K., Sword-Fehlberg, S., Szelc, A. M., Tagg, N., Tang, W., Terao, K., Thornton, R. T., Toups, M., Tsai, Y. -T., Tufanli, S., Uchida, M. A., Usher, T., Van De Pontseele, W., Van de Water, R. G., Viren, B., Weber, M., Wei, H., Wickremasinghe, D. A., Williams, Z., Wolbers, S., Wongjirad, T., Woodruff, K., Wospakrik, M., Wu, W., Yang, T., Yarbrough, G., Yates, L. E., Zeller, G. P., Zennamo, J., Zhang, C., and The MicroBooNE Collaboration. Search for heavy neutral leptons decaying into muon-pion pairs in the MicroBooNE detector. United States: N. p., 2020. Web. doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.101.052001.
Abratenko, P., Alrashed, M., An, R., Anthony, J., Asaadi, J., Ashkenazi, A., Balasubramanian, S., Baller, B., Barnes, C., Barr, G., Basque, V., Berkman, S., Bhanderi, A., Bhat, A., Bishai, M., Blake, A., Bolton, T., Camilleri, L., Caratelli, D., Caro Terrazas, I., Castillo Fernandez, R., Cavanna, F., Cerati, G., Chen, Y., Church, E., Cianci, D., Cohen, E. O., Conrad, J. M., Convery, M., Cooper-Troendle, L., Crespo-Anadón, J. I., Del Tutto, M., Devitt, D., Domine, L., Duffy, K., Dytman, S., Eberly, B., Ereditato, A., Escudero Sanchez, L., Evans, J. J., Fitzpatrick, R. S., Fleming, B. T., Foppiani, N., Franco, D., Furmanski, A. P., Garcia-Gamez, D., Gardiner, S., Genty, V., Goeldi, D., Gollapinni, S., Goodwin, O., Gramellini, E., Green, P., Greenlee, H., Gu, L., Gu, W., Guenette, R., Guzowski, P., Hamilton, P., Hen, O., Hill, C., Horton-Smith, G. A., Hourlier, A., Huang, E. -C., Itay, R., James, C., Jan de Vries, J., Ji, X., Jiang, L., Jo, J. H., Johnson, R. A., Joshi, J., Jwa, Y. -J., Karagiorgi, G., Ketchum, W., Kirby, B., Kirby, M., Kobilarcik, T., Kreslo, I., LaZur, R., Lepetic, I., Li, Y., Lister, A., Littlejohn, B. R., Lockwitz, S., Lorca, D., Louis, W. C., Luethi, M., Lundberg, B., Luo, X., Marchionni, A., Marcocci, S., Mariani, C., Marshall, J., Martin-Albo, J., Martinez Caicedo, D. A., Mason, K., Mastbaum, A., McConkey, N., Meddage, V., Mettler, T., Miller, K., Mills, J., Mistry, K., Mogan, A., Mohayai, T., Moon, J., Mooney, M., Moore, C. D., Mousseau, J., Murrells, R., Naples, D., Neely, R. K., Nienaber, P., Nowak, J., Palamara, O., Pandey, V., Paolone, V., Papadopoulou, A., Papavassiliou, V., Pate, S. F., Paudel, A., Pavlovic, Z., Piasetzky, E., Porzio, D., Prince, S., Pulliam, G., Qian, X., Raaf, J. L., Radeka, V., Rafique, A., Ren, L., Rochester, L., Rogers, H. E., Ross-Lonergan, M., Rudolf von Rohr, C., Russell, B., Scanavini, G., Schmitz, D. W., Schukraft, A., Seligman, W., Shaevitz, M. H., Sharankova, R., Sinclair, J., Smith, A., Snider, E. L., Soderberg, M., Söldner-Rembold, S., Soleti, S. R., Spentzouris, P., Spitz, J., Stancari, M., John, J. St., Strauss, T., Sutton, K., Sword-Fehlberg, S., Szelc, A. M., Tagg, N., Tang, W., Terao, K., Thornton, R. T., Toups, M., Tsai, Y. -T., Tufanli, S., Uchida, M. A., Usher, T., Van De Pontseele, W., Van de Water, R. G., Viren, B., Weber, M., Wei, H., Wickremasinghe, D. A., Williams, Z., Wolbers, S., Wongjirad, T., Woodruff, K., Wospakrik, M., Wu, W., Yang, T., Yarbrough, G., Yates, L. E., Zeller, G. P., Zennamo, J., Zhang, C., & The MicroBooNE Collaboration. Search for heavy neutral leptons decaying into muon-pion pairs in the MicroBooNE detector. United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.101.052001
Abratenko, P., Alrashed, M., An, R., Anthony, J., Asaadi, J., Ashkenazi, A., Balasubramanian, S., Baller, B., Barnes, C., Barr, G., Basque, V., Berkman, S., Bhanderi, A., Bhat, A., Bishai, M., Blake, A., Bolton, T., Camilleri, L., Caratelli, D., Caro Terrazas, I., Castillo Fernandez, R., Cavanna, F., Cerati, G., Chen, Y., Church, E., Cianci, D., Cohen, E. O., Conrad, J. M., Convery, M., Cooper-Troendle, L., Crespo-Anadón, J. I., Del Tutto, M., Devitt, D., Domine, L., Duffy, K., Dytman, S., Eberly, B., Ereditato, A., Escudero Sanchez, L., Evans, J. J., Fitzpatrick, R. S., Fleming, B. T., Foppiani, N., Franco, D., Furmanski, A. P., Garcia-Gamez, D., Gardiner, S., Genty, V., Goeldi, D., Gollapinni, S., Goodwin, O., Gramellini, E., Green, P., Greenlee, H., Gu, L., Gu, W., Guenette, R., Guzowski, P., Hamilton, P., Hen, O., Hill, C., Horton-Smith, G. A., Hourlier, A., Huang, E. -C., Itay, R., James, C., Jan de Vries, J., Ji, X., Jiang, L., Jo, J. H., Johnson, R. A., Joshi, J., Jwa, Y. -J., Karagiorgi, G., Ketchum, W., Kirby, B., Kirby, M., Kobilarcik, T., Kreslo, I., LaZur, R., Lepetic, I., Li, Y., Lister, A., Littlejohn, B. R., Lockwitz, S., Lorca, D., Louis, W. C., Luethi, M., Lundberg, B., Luo, X., Marchionni, A., Marcocci, S., Mariani, C., Marshall, J., Martin-Albo, J., Martinez Caicedo, D. A., Mason, K., Mastbaum, A., McConkey, N., Meddage, V., Mettler, T., Miller, K., Mills, J., Mistry, K., Mogan, A., Mohayai, T., Moon, J., Mooney, M., Moore, C. D., Mousseau, J., Murrells, R., Naples, D., Neely, R. K., Nienaber, P., Nowak, J., Palamara, O., Pandey, V., Paolone, V., Papadopoulou, A., Papavassiliou, V., Pate, S. F., Paudel, A., Pavlovic, Z., Piasetzky, E., Porzio, D., Prince, S., Pulliam, G., Qian, X., Raaf, J. L., Radeka, V., Rafique, A., Ren, L., Rochester, L., Rogers, H. E., Ross-Lonergan, M., Rudolf von Rohr, C., Russell, B., Scanavini, G., Schmitz, D. W., Schukraft, A., Seligman, W., Shaevitz, M. H., Sharankova, R., Sinclair, J., Smith, A., Snider, E. L., Soderberg, M., Söldner-Rembold, S., Soleti, S. R., Spentzouris, P., Spitz, J., Stancari, M., John, J. St., Strauss, T., Sutton, K., Sword-Fehlberg, S., Szelc, A. M., Tagg, N., Tang, W., Terao, K., Thornton, R. T., Toups, M., Tsai, Y. -T., Tufanli, S., Uchida, M. A., Usher, T., Van De Pontseele, W., Van de Water, R. G., Viren, B., Weber, M., Wei, H., Wickremasinghe, D. A., Williams, Z., Wolbers, S., Wongjirad, T., Woodruff, K., Wospakrik, M., Wu, W., Yang, T., Yarbrough, G., Yates, L. E., Zeller, G. P., Zennamo, J., Zhang, C., and The MicroBooNE Collaboration. Wed . "Search for heavy neutral leptons decaying into muon-pion pairs in the MicroBooNE detector". United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.101.052001.
@article{osti_1603205,
title = {Search for heavy neutral leptons decaying into muon-pion pairs in the MicroBooNE detector},
author = {Abratenko, P. and Alrashed, M. and An, R. and Anthony, J. and Asaadi, J. and Ashkenazi, A. and Balasubramanian, S. and Baller, B. and Barnes, C. and Barr, G. and Basque, V. and Berkman, S. and Bhanderi, A. and Bhat, A. and Bishai, M. and Blake, A. and Bolton, T. and Camilleri, L. and Caratelli, D. and Caro Terrazas, I. and Castillo Fernandez, R. and Cavanna, F. and Cerati, G. and Chen, Y. and Church, E. and Cianci, D. and Cohen, E. O. and Conrad, J. M. and Convery, M. and Cooper-Troendle, L. and Crespo-Anadón, J. I. and Del Tutto, M. and Devitt, D. and Domine, L. and Duffy, K. and Dytman, S. and Eberly, B. and Ereditato, A. and Escudero Sanchez, L. and Evans, J. J. and Fitzpatrick, R. S. and Fleming, B. T. and Foppiani, N. and Franco, D. and Furmanski, A. P. and Garcia-Gamez, D. and Gardiner, S. and Genty, V. and Goeldi, D. and Gollapinni, S. and Goodwin, O. and Gramellini, E. and Green, P. and Greenlee, H. and Gu, L. and Gu, W. and Guenette, R. and Guzowski, P. and Hamilton, P. and Hen, O. and Hill, C. and Horton-Smith, G. A. and Hourlier, A. and Huang, E. -C. and Itay, R. and James, C. and Jan de Vries, J. and Ji, X. and Jiang, L. and Jo, J. H. and Johnson, R. A. and Joshi, J. and Jwa, Y. -J. and Karagiorgi, G. and Ketchum, W. and Kirby, B. and Kirby, M. and Kobilarcik, T. and Kreslo, I. and LaZur, R. and Lepetic, I. and Li, Y. and Lister, A. and Littlejohn, B. R. and Lockwitz, S. and Lorca, D. and Louis, W. C. and Luethi, M. and Lundberg, B. and Luo, X. and Marchionni, A. and Marcocci, S. and Mariani, C. and Marshall, J. and Martin-Albo, J. and Martinez Caicedo, D. A. and Mason, K. and Mastbaum, A. and McConkey, N. and Meddage, V. and Mettler, T. and Miller, K. and Mills, J. and Mistry, K. and Mogan, A. and Mohayai, T. and Moon, J. and Mooney, M. and Moore, C. D. and Mousseau, J. and Murrells, R. and Naples, D. and Neely, R. K. and Nienaber, P. and Nowak, J. and Palamara, O. and Pandey, V. and Paolone, V. and Papadopoulou, A. and Papavassiliou, V. and Pate, S. F. and Paudel, A. and Pavlovic, Z. and Piasetzky, E. and Porzio, D. and Prince, S. and Pulliam, G. and Qian, X. and Raaf, J. L. and Radeka, V. and Rafique, A. and Ren, L. and Rochester, L. and Rogers, H. E. and Ross-Lonergan, M. and Rudolf von Rohr, C. and Russell, B. and Scanavini, G. and Schmitz, D. W. and Schukraft, A. and Seligman, W. and Shaevitz, M. H. and Sharankova, R. and Sinclair, J. and Smith, A. and Snider, E. L. and Soderberg, M. and Söldner-Rembold, S. and Soleti, S. R. and Spentzouris, P. and Spitz, J. and Stancari, M. and John, J. St. and Strauss, T. and Sutton, K. and Sword-Fehlberg, S. and Szelc, A. M. and Tagg, N. and Tang, W. and Terao, K. and Thornton, R. T. and Toups, M. and Tsai, Y. -T. and Tufanli, S. and Uchida, M. A. and Usher, T. and Van De Pontseele, W. and Van de Water, R. G. and Viren, B. and Weber, M. and Wei, H. and Wickremasinghe, D. A. and Williams, Z. and Wolbers, S. and Wongjirad, T. and Woodruff, K. and Wospakrik, M. and Wu, W. and Yang, T. and Yarbrough, G. and Yates, L. E. and Zeller, G. P. and Zennamo, J. and Zhang, C. and The MicroBooNE Collaboration},
abstractNote = {We present upper limits on the production of heavy neutral leptons (HNLs) decaying to $\mu \pi$ pairs using data collected with the MicroBooNE liquid-argon time projection chamber (TPC) operating at Fermilab. This search is the first of its kind performed in a liquid-argon TPC. We use data collected in 2017 and 2018 corresponding to an exposure of $2.0 \times 10^{20}$ protons on target from the Fermilab Booster Neutrino Beam, which produces mainly muon neutrinos with an average energy of $\approx 800$ MeV. HNLs with higher mass are expected to have a longer time-of-flight to the liquid-argon TPC than Standard Model neutrinos. The data are therefore recorded with a dedicated trigger configured to detect HNL decays that occur after the neutrino spill reaches the detector. We set upper limits at the $90\%$ confidence level on the element $\lvert U_{\mu4}\rvert^2$ of the extended PMNS mixing matrix in the range $\lvert U_{\mu4}\rvert^2<(6.6$-$0.9)\times 10^{-7}$ for Dirac HNLs and $\lvert U_{\mu4}\rvert^2<(4.7$-$0.7)\times 10^{-7}$ for Majorana HNLs, assuming HNL masses between $260$ and $385$ MeV and $\lvert U_{e 4}\rvert^2 = \lvert U_{\tau 4}\rvert^2 = 0$.},
doi = {10.1103/PhysRevD.101.052001},
journal = {Physical Review. D.},
number = 5,
volume = 101,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Mar 04 00:00:00 EST 2020},
month = {Wed Mar 04 00:00:00 EST 2020}
}

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https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.101.052001

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