2013/07/26 by OscSNS Collaboration, Robert Allen, R. Allen +62
Physics and Astronomy · #Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena #FOS: Physical sciences #High Energy Physics - Experiment (hep-ex) #High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph) #Instrumentation and Detectors (physics.ins-det) #Neutrino Physics Research #Nuclear Experiment (nucl-ex) #Particle physics theoretical and experimental studies #hep-ex #hep-ph #nucl-ex #physics.ins-det
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1307.7097
This white paper is submitted as part of the SNOWMASS planning process
openalex publication_date 2013/07/26 · arxiv created 2013/10/07 · arxiv updated 2013/10/08 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
There exists a need to address and resolve the growing evidence for short-baseline neutrino oscillations and the possible existence of sterile neutrinos. Such non-standard particles require a mass of ∼ 1 eV/c2, far above the mass scale associated with active neutrinos, and were first invoked to explain the LSND νμ→ νe appearance signal. More recently, the MiniBooNE experiment has reported a 2.8 σ excess of events in antineutrino mode consistent with neutrino oscillations and with the LSND antineutrino appearance signal. MiniBooNE also observed a 3.4 σ excess of events in their neutrino mode data. Lower than expected neutrino-induced event rates using calibrated radioactive sources and nuclear reactors can also be explained by the existence of sterile neutrinos. Fits to the world's neutrino and antineutrino data are consistent with sterile neutrinos at this ∼ 1 eV/c2 mass scale, although there is some tension between measurements from disappearance and appearance experiments. In addition to resolving this potential major extension of the Standard Model, the existence of sterile neutrinos will impact design and planning for all future neutrino experiments. It should be an extremely high priority to conclusively establish if such unexpected light sterile neutrinos exist. The Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, built to usher in a new era in neutron research, provides a unique opportunity for US science to perform a definitive world-class search for sterile neutrinos.