The first result of the neutrino magnetic moment measurement in the GEMMA experiment

TL;DR

This paper reports the first measurement of the neutrino magnetic moment using the GEMMA spectrometer at a nuclear power plant, setting an upper limit on its value through antineutrino-electron scattering data.

Contribution

It presents the initial experimental results of neutrino magnetic moment measurement with a high-purity germanium detector at a nuclear reactor, establishing a new upper limit.

Findings

Upper limit for neutrino magnetic moment: < 5.8×10^{-11} μ_B at 90% CL

Used differential method to analyze antineutrino-electron scattering

Compared spectra during reactor ON and OFF periods

Abstract

The first result of the neutrino magnetic moment measurement at the Kalininskaya Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) with the GEMMA spectrometer is presented. An antineutrino-electron scattering is investigated. A high-purity germanium detector of 1.5 kg placed 13.9 m away from the 3 GW reactor core is used in the spectrometer. The antineutrino flux is $2.73\times 10^{13} \nu_e / cm^2 / s$. The differential method is used to extract the $\nu$-e electromagnetic scattering events. The scattered electron spectra taken in 6200 and 2064 hours for the reactor ON and OFF periods are compared. The upper limit for the neutrino magnetic moment $\mu_\nu < 5.8\times 10^{-11}$ Bohr magnetons at 90{%} CL is derived from the data processing.