Sensitivities of Low Energy Reactor Neutrino Experiments

TL;DR

This paper investigates the uncertainties in low energy reactor neutrino spectra, their impact on experiments, and proposes optimized measurement strategies to improve sensitivities in neutrino interaction studies.

Contribution

It identifies the source of uncertainties in low energy spectra and suggests specific recoil energy ranges for different neutrino experiments to enhance accuracy.

Findings

Discrepancies with Standard Model can be explained by underestimated low energy spectra.

Optimal recoil energy ranges are identified for different neutrino measurements.

Discusses potential improvements using artificial neutrino sources.

Abstract

The low energy part of the reactor neutrino spectra has not been experimentally measured. Its uncertainties limit the sensitivities in certain reactor neutrino experiments. The origin of these uncertainties are discussed, and the effects on measurements of neutrino interactions with electrons and nuclei are studied. Comparisons are made with existing results. In particular, the discrepancies between previous measurements with Standard Model expectations can be explained by an under-estimation of the low energy reactor neutrino spectra. To optimize the experimental sensitivities, measurements for $\nuebar$-e cross-sections should focus on events with large ($>$1.5 MeV) recoil energy while those for neutrino magnetic moment searches should be based on events $<$100 keV. The merits and attainable accuracies for neutrino-electron scattering experiments using artificial neutrino sources are discussed.