Future Reactor Neutrino Oscillation Experiments at Krasnoyarsk

TL;DR

This paper discusses the design and goals of future reactor neutrino oscillation experiments at Krasnoyarsk, aiming to detect small mixing angles and measure the U_{e3} element with improved sensitivity using multiple detectors.

Contribution

It introduces a new experimental setup with two large detectors at different distances to improve sensitivity to neutrino oscillations and reduce errors.

Findings

Design of two 50-ton detectors at 1100 m and 250 m from reactor

Initial pilot studies with smaller detectors at 20 m and 35-60 m

Goals include measuring small mixing angles and exploring LSND parameter region

Abstract

Recent studies of atmospheric neutrinos and the results from CHOOZ and Palo-Verde experiment call for new and more sensitive searches for neutrino oscillations at reactors. The main goal of the project considered here is to look for very small mixing angle oscillations of electron neutrinos in the atmospheric neutrino mass parameter region around \Delta m^2 ~3 10^-3 eV^2 and to define the element U_{e3} of the neutrino mixing matrix (U_{e3}is the contribution of the mass-3 state to the electron neutrino flavor state). The practical goal of the project is to decrease, relative to the CHOOZ, the statistic and systematic errors as much as possible. To achieve this we plan to use two identical antineutrino detectors each with a ~50-ton liquid scintillator target located at ~1100 m and ~250 m from the underground reactor (~600 mwe). Much attention is given to the detector calibration and monitoring procedures. As a first step we consider two much smaller pilot detectors each of ~ a 3 ton target mass stationed at ~20 m and 35-60 m from the reactor. The goals of this first stage are: (i) to accumulate necessary experience and (ii) to investigate with electron neutrinos the LSND mass parameter region.