Experimental Parameters for a Reactor Antineutrino Experiment at Very Short Baselines

TL;DR

This paper explores the experimental setup and sensitivity of very short baseline reactor antineutrino measurements to investigate neutrino oscillations and anomalies, demonstrating potential for discovery within three years.

Contribution

It analyzes the experimental parameters and sensitivity for a new reactor antineutrino experiment at very short baselines, highlighting its potential to detect sterile neutrino oscillations.

Findings

Potential for 5σ discovery of sterile neutrino oscillations within 3 years

Reactor experiments at 1-10 m baselines can address the reactor antineutrino anomaly

Sensitivity calculations show promising detection capabilities for new physics

Abstract

Reactor antineutrinos are used to study neutrino oscillation, search for signatures of non-standard neutrino interactions, and to monitor reactor operation for safeguard applications. The flux and energy spectrum of reactor antineutrinos can be predicted from the decays of the nuclear fission products. A comparison of recent reactor calculations with past measurements at baselines of 10-100m suggests a 5.7% deficit. Precision measurements of reactor antineutrinos at very short baselines O(1-10 m) can be used to probe this anomaly and search for possible oscillations into sterile neutrino species. This paper studies the experimental requirements for a new reactor antineutrino measurement at very short baselines and calculates the sensitivity of various scenarios. We conclude that an experiment at a typical research reactor provides 5{\sigma} discovery potential for the favored oscillation parameter space with 3 years of data collection.