Search for new physics with neutrinos at Radioactive Ion Beam facilities

TL;DR

This paper explores using Radioactive Ion Beam facilities to detect new physics phenomena like sterile neutrinos and coherent neutrino-nucleus scattering, offering a novel experimental approach with potential to clarify existing neutrino anomalies.

Contribution

It proposes a new experimental setup utilizing low energy beta-beams at RIB facilities to search for sterile neutrinos and measure coherent neutrino-nucleus scattering, with detailed sensitivity analysis.

Findings

Estimated event rates for neutrino-nucleus scattering in noble liquids.

Exclusion curves for sterile neutrino mixing parameters.

Demonstrated potential to resolve current neutrino anomalies.

Abstract

We propose applications of Radioactive Ion Beam facilities to investigate physics beyond the Standard Model. In particular, we focus on the possible measurement of coherent neutrino-nucleus scattering and on a search for sterile neutrinos, by means of a low energy beta-beam with a Lorentz boost factor $\gamma \approx 1$. In the considered setup the collected radioactive ions are sent inside a 4$\pi$ detector. For the first application we provide the number of events associated with neutrino-nucleus coherent scattering, when the detector is filled in with a noble liquid. For the sterile search we consider that the spherical detector is filled in with a liquid scintillator, and that the neutrino detection channel is inverse-beta decay. We provide the exclusion curves for the sterile neutrino mixing parameters, based upon the 3+1 formalism, depending upon the achievable ion intensity. Our results are obtained both from total rates, and including spectral information with binning in energy and in distance. The proposed experiment represents a possible alternative to clarify the current anomalies observed in neutrino experiments.