Search for neutrino non-standard interactions with ANTARES and KM3NeT-ORCA

TL;DR

This paper reports a search for non-standard neutrino interactions using 10 years of ANTARES data and provides sensitivity projections for KM3NeT/ORCA, aiming to detect deviations in neutrino oscillations caused by NSIs.

Contribution

It presents the most stringent bounds to date on NSIs in the mu-tau sector from ANTARES data and projects future sensitivity for KM3NeT/ORCA.

Findings

ANTARES set the most stringent limits on mu-tau NSIs.

Likelihood-based analysis applied to 10 years of data.

Sensitivity projections for KM3NeT/ORCA demonstrate potential to improve constraints.

Abstract

Non-standard interactions (NSIs) in the propagation of neutrinos in matter can lead to significant deviations in neutrino oscillations expected within the standard 3-neutrino framework. These additional interactions would result in an anomalous flux of neutrinos observable at neutrino telescopes. The ANTARES detector and its next-generation successor, KM3NeT, located in the abyss of the Mediterranean Sea, have the potential to measure sub-dominant effects in neutrino oscillations, coming from non-standard neutrino interactions. In this contribution, a likelihood-based search for NSIs with 10 years of atmospheric muon-neutrino data recorded with ANTARES is reported and sensitivity projections for KM3NeT/ORCA, based on realistic detector simulations, are shown. The bounds obtained with ANTARES in the NSI $\mu - \tau$ sector constitute the most stringent limits up to date.