Light sterile neutrino searches

TL;DR

This paper reviews the current status of light sterile neutrino searches, discussing anomalies, experimental constraints, and upcoming experiments aiming to confirm or refute their existence in the eV mass range.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of the anomalies, tensions, and experimental efforts related to light sterile neutrinos, highlighting the challenges and prospects in this research area.

Findings

Global analyses suggest eV-mass sterile neutrinos but show tensions with anomalies.

Upcoming experiments will have improved sensitivities to test sterile neutrino hypotheses.

Current data do not conclusively confirm or exclude light sterile neutrinos.

Abstract

Several anomalies are discussed in neutrino physics, linked to the possible existence of light sterile neutrinos. These sterile neutrinos would not interact weakly, but they could leave an imprint in various measurements, such as neutrino oscillation experiments or precise measurements of beta decay spectra. Global analyses of neutrino oscillation data suggest sterile neutrinos with a mass in the eV range, but reveal at the same time tensions with the observed neutrino anomalies. In the next years several experiments will test the sterile neutrino hypothesis with masses in the eV range with promising sensitivities.