Determination of Neutrino Mass Hierarchy and Theta_13 with a Remote Detector of Reactor Antineutrinos

TL;DR

This paper proposes a remote detection method using a scintillating detector and Fourier analysis to determine neutrino mass hierarchy and theta_13 with high precision over a 10-year period.

Contribution

It introduces a novel Fourier transform-based technique for neutrino mass hierarchy determination using a single detector at a specific distance from a reactor.

Findings

Effective for sin^2(2theta_13)>0.05 within 1 year

Detects spectral peaks for delta-m2_31 and delta-m2_32

Requires 3.5% energy resolution for optimal results

Abstract

We describe a method for determining the hierarchy of the neutrino mass spectrum and theta_13 through remote detection of antineutrinos from a nuclear reactor. This method utilizing a single, 10-kt scintillating liquid detector at a distance of 50-64 kilometers from the reactor complex measures mass-squared differences involving nu_3 with a one (ten) year exposure provided sin2(2theta_13)>0.05 (0.02). Our technique applies the Fourier transform to the event rate as a function of neutrino flight distance over energy. Sweeping over a relevant range of delta-m2 resolves separate spectral peaks for delta-m2_31 and delta-m2_32. For normal (inverted) hierarchy the absolute value of delta-m2_31 is greater (lesser) than the absolute value of delta-m2_32. This robust method requires a detector energy resolution of 3.5% divided by the square root of the scintillation energy.