Search for sterile neutrinos mixing with muon neutrinos in MINOS

Journal article

We report results of a search for oscillations involving a light sterile neutrino over distances of 1.04 and 735 km in a ν_{μ}-dominated beam with a peak energy of 3 GeV. The data, from an exposure of 10.56×10^{20} protons on target, are analyzed using a phenomenological model with one sterile neutrino. We constrain the mixing parameters θ_{24} and Δm_{41}^{2} and set limits on parameters of the four-dimensional Pontecorvo-Maki-Nakagawa-Sakata matrix, |U_{μ4}|^{2} and |U_{τ4}|^{2}, under the assumption that mixing between ν_{e} and ν_{s} is negligible (|U_{e4}|^{2}=0). No evidence for ν_{μ}→ν_{s} transitions is found and we set a world-leading limit on θ_{24} for values of Δm_{41}^{2}≲1  eV^{2}.

Authors: Adamson, P; Anghel, I; Aurisano, A; Barr, G; Bishai, M

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: American Physical Society
• Journal: Physical Review Letters
• Volume: 117
• Issue: 15
• Article number: 151803
• Publication date: 2016-10-07
• Acceptance date: 2016-08-24
• DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.151803
• EISSN: 1079-7114
• ISSN: 0031-9007
• Language: English
• Keywords: JOURNAL ARTICLE