Reevaluating Reactor Antineutrino Anomalies with Updated Flux Predictions

TL;DR

This paper reassesses reactor antineutrino anomalies using updated flux models, confirming persistent spectral ratio anomalies and discussing future experiments' potential to explore sterile neutrino parameters.

Contribution

It introduces revised flux predictions that alter the interpretation of rate deficits while maintaining spectral ratio anomalies, informing sterile neutrino searches.

Findings

Spectral ratio anomalies remain despite updated flux models.

Updated flux predictions change the significance of rate deficit anomalies.

Upcoming experiments can effectively probe sterile neutrino parameter space.

Abstract

Hints for the existence of a sterile neutrino at nuclear reactors are reexamined using two updated predictions for the fluxes of antineutrinos produced in fissions. These new predictions diverge in their preference for the rate deficit anomaly, relative to previous analyses, but the anomaly in the ratios of measured antineutrino spectra persists. We comment on upcoming experiments and their ability to probe the preferred region of the sterile-neutrino parameter space in the electron neutrino disappearance channel.