Compact Neutrino Source

TL;DR

The paper proposes a compact neutrino source based on a subcritical fission reactor to observe sterile neutrino oscillations at very short distances, aiming to improve detection sensitivity and distinguish oscillation effects from systematic uncertainties.

Contribution

It introduces a novel compact neutrino source design that enables submeter-scale observations of sterile neutrino oscillations, addressing limitations of previous flux normalization methods.

Findings

Potential to observe oscillations at submeter distances

Ability to distinguish systematic normalization from oscillation effects

Enhanced sensitivity to high Δm² sterile neutrinos

Abstract

Some evidence for sterile neutrinos has been found in short baseline observations where the measured neutrino flux did not agree with expectations. Systematic uncertainties from the expected values has limited the sensitivity of this approach. Observation at multiple distances can remove the normalization uncertainty by isolating the distance dependence. This doesn't work for high $\Delta m^{2}$ sterile neutrinos since they are fully mixed at most observation distances and only shift the normalization of the flux. A compact intense source of neutrinos based on a subcritical fission reactor would permit observation of oscillations on submeter distance scales and clearly distinguish between a systematic normalization and the $L/E$ dependence expected from oscillations.