Final results on the neutrino magnetic moment from the MUNU experiment

TL;DR

This paper reports the final analysis of the MUNU experiment, which measured neutrino-electron scattering at low energies to set new limits on the neutrino magnetic moment and demonstrated the detector's potential for future neutrino physics research.

Contribution

The paper provides the first comprehensive analysis of MUNU data, establishing improved upper limits on the neutrino magnetic moment and showcasing the detector's capabilities at low energies.

Findings

New upper limit on neutrino magnetic moment from 3 bar data

Successful reconstruction of electron tracks down to 150 keV at 1 bar

Demonstration of the detector's potential for low energy neutrino studies

Abstract

The MUNU detector was designed to study neutrino-electron elastic scattering at low energy. The central component is a Time Projection Chamber filled with CF4 gas, surrounded by an anti-Compton detector. The experiment was carried out at the Bugey (France) nuclear reactor. In this paper we present the final analysis of the data recorded at 3 bar and 1 bar pressure. Both the energy and the scattering angle of the recoil electron are measured. From the 3 bar data a new upper limit on the neutrino magnetic moment was derived. At 1 bar electron tracks down to 150 keV were reconstructed, demonstrating the potentiality of the experimental technique for future applications in low energy neutrino physics.