Proposal for an Electron Antineutrino Disappearance Search Using High-Rate 8Li Production and Decay

• Main Authors: Bungau, Adriana (Author), Adelmann, A. (Author), Alonso, Jose Ramon (Contributor), Barletta, William A. (Contributor), Barlow, R. J (Author), Bartoszek, L. (Author), Calabretta, L. (Author), Calanna, Alessandra (Contributor), Campo, Daniel (Contributor), Conrad, Janet (Contributor), Djurcic, Z. (Author), Kamyshkov, Y. (Author), Shaevitz, M. H. (Author), Shimizu, I. (Author), Smidt, Tess E. (Contributor), Spitz, Joshua B. (Contributor), Wascko, M. (Author), Winslow, Lindley (Contributor), Yang, J. J. (Contributor)
• Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics (Contributor), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Laboratory for Nuclear Science (Contributor)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Physical Society, 2013-01-09T18:52:34Z.
• Subjects: Article
• Online Access: Get fulltext

This paper introduces an experimental probe of the sterile neutrino with a novel, high-intensity source of electron antineutrinos from the production and subsequent decay of [superscript 8]Li. When paired with an existing ~1 kton scintillator-based detector, this (E[subscript v])=6.4 MeV source opens a wide range of possible searches for beyond standard model physics via studies of the inverse beta decay interaction ν̅[subscript e]+p→[superscript +]+n. In particular, the experimental design described here has unprecedented sensitivity to ν[subscript e] disappearance at Δm[superscript 2]~1 eV[superscript 2] and features the ability to distinguish between the existence of zero, one, and two sterile neutrinos.