Baird, M, Blackburn, T, Davies, J P, Hartnell, J, Méndez, D P, Vinton, L, Zamorano, B and The NOvA Collaboration, (2017) Search for active-sterile neutrino mixing using neutral-current interactions in NOvA. Physical Review D, 96 (7). ISSN 2470-0010

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Abstract

We report results from the first search for sterile neutrinos mixing with active neutrinos through a reduction in the rate of neutral-current interactions over a baseline of 810 km between the NOvA detectors. Analyzing a 14-kton detector equivalent exposure of 6.05 × 1020 protons-on-target in the NuMI beam at Fermilab, we observe 95 neutral-current candidates at the Far Detector compared with 83.5±9.7(stat)±9.4(syst) events predicted assuming mixing only occurs between active neutrino species. No evidence for νμ → νs transitions is found. Interpreting these results within a 3+1 model, we place constraints on the mixing angles θ24 < 20.8° and θ34 < 31.2° at the 90% C.L. for 0.05 eV2 ≤ Δm2 41 ≤ 0.5 eV2, the range of mass splittings that produce no significant oscillations over the Near Detector baseline.

Item Type:	Article
Schools and Departments:	School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences > Physics and Astronomy
Subjects:	Q Science > QC Physics
Depositing User:	Billy Wichaidit
Date Deposited:	07 Nov 2017 12:48
Last Modified:	16 Nov 2017 15:46
URI:	http://srodev.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/71043

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