2026/03/18 by O. Azzolini, J.W. Beeman, J. W. Beeman +52
Physics and Astronomy · #Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena #Mixing (physics) #Neutrino #Neutrino Physics Research #Particle physics theoretical and experimental studies #Physics beyond the Standard Model #Standard Model (mathematical formulation) #Sterile neutrino #Third generation #hep-ex #nucl-ex
paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/1475-7516/2026/07/052
published in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics 2026(07), 052 (Institute of Physics)
openalex publication_date 2026/07/01 · openalex created_date 2026/07/16 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Abstract Sterile neutrinos are well-motivated extensions of the Standard Model, introduced to address fundamental questions such as the origin of neutrino masses and the nature of dark matter. Exploiting the precise data reconstruction achieved by the CUPID-0 experiment, we searched for spectral distortions in the double β -decay of 82 Se compatible with the emission of a sterile neutrino. The analysis relies on the construction of a detailed background model down to 200 keV, enabling an accurate characterization of the main sources of contamination. Using a Zn 82 Se exposure of 9.95 kg·yr, we explored sterile neutrino mass hypotheses between 0.5 MeV and 1.5 MeV. No evidence for a signal was observed in any scenario; therefore, we derived 90% C.I. upper limits on the active-sterile mixing probability sin 2 θ , obtaining the most stringent bound, sin 2 θ < 8 × 10 -3 , for a sterile neutrino mass of 0.7 MeV.