Final Search for Short-Baseline Neutrino Oscillations with the PROSPECT-I Detector at HFIR

The PROSPECT experiment is designed to perform precise searches for antineutrino disappearance at short distances (7-9 m) from compact nuclear reactor cores. This Letter reports results from a new neutrino oscillation analysis performed using the complete data sample from the PROSPECT-I detector operated at the High Flux Isotope Reactor in 2018. The analysis uses a multiperiod selection of inverse beta decay neutrino interactions with reduced backgrounds and enhanced statistical power to set limits on electron neutrino disappearance caused by mixing with sterile neutrinos with 0.2-20 eV^{2} mass splittings. Inverse beta decay positron energy spectra from six different reactor-detector distance ranges are found to be statistically consistent with one another, as would be expected in the absence of sterile neutrino oscillations. The data excludes at 95% confidence level the existence of sterile neutrinos in regions above 3 eV^{2} previously unexplored by terrestrial experiments, including all space below 10 eV^{2} suggested by the recently strengthened Gallium Anomaly. The best-fit point of the Neutrino-4 reactor experiment's claimed observation of short-baseline oscillation is ruled out at more than 5 standard deviations.

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Publication Details

Journal
Physical Review Letters
Published
2025-04-14
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.134.151802
Citations
6
Primary Topic
Neutrino Physics Research
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
11.22

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article

Final Search for Short-Baseline Neutrino Oscillations with the PROSPECT-I Detector at HFIR

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6 citations
Physical Review Letters
Neutrino Physics Research
11.22
article

Final Search for Short-Baseline Neutrino Oscillations with the PROSPECT-I Detector at HFIR

A. B. Hansell, F. Sutanto, M. Yeh, H. P. Mumm, Xianyi Zhang, Andrew Conant, S. Jayakumar, T. Classen, J. Wilhelmi, J. Koblanski, B. Heffron, R. Carr, M. J. Dolinski, N. S. Bowden, M. Andriamirado, M. P. Mendenhall, Anna Erickson, S. Hans, Chris Bryan, P. E. Mueller, C. Roca, D. Venegas-Vargas, C. Grant, A. Galindo-Uribarri, J. Maricic, E. P. Bernard, R. Rosero, O. Benevides Rodrigues, D. E. Jaffe, G. Deichert, A. B. Balantekin, C. Lane, B. R. Littlejohn, C.D. Bass, R. Milincic, P. Kunkle, P. Weatherly, P. T. Surukuchi, R. Neilson, X. Qian, K. M. Heeger, F. Machado, X. Lu, A. Sanchez, A. M. Meyer, S. Gokhale, C. Zhang
article en
6 citations

Abstract

The PROSPECT experiment is designed to perform precise searches for antineutrino disappearance at short distances (7-9 m) from compact nuclear reactor cores. This Letter reports results from a new neutrino oscillation analysis performed using the complete data sample from the PROSPECT-I detector operated at the High Flux Isotope Reactor in 2018. The analysis uses a multiperiod selection of inverse beta decay neutrino interactions with reduced backgrounds and enhanced statistical power to set limits on electron neutrino disappearance caused by mixing with sterile neutrinos with 0.2-20 eV^{2} mass splittings. Inverse beta decay positron energy spectra from six different reactor-detector distance ranges are found to be statistically consistent with one another, as would be expected in the absence of sterile neutrino oscillations. The data excludes at 95% confidence level the existence of sterile neutrinos in regions above 3 eV^{2} previously unexplored by terrestrial experiments, including all space below 10 eV^{2} suggested by the recently strengthened Gallium Anomaly. The best-fit point of the Neutrino-4 reactor experiment's claimed observation of short-baseline oscillation is ruled out at more than 5 standard deviations.

Physical Review LettersVol. 134(15)
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (US), Oak Ridge National Laboratory (US), Georgia Institute of Technology (US), National Institute of Standards and Technology (US), University of Hawaii System (US), Susquehanna University (US), Illinois Institute of Technology (US), United States Naval Academy (US), Brookhaven National Laboratory (US), Yale University (US), National Institute of Standards (EG), Le Moyne College (US), Drexel University (US), University of Tennessee at Knoxville (US)
U.S. Department of Energy, Battelle, Yale University, Drexel University, University of Hawai'i, Temple University, Illinois Institute of Technology, Heising-Simons Foundation, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Office of Science, High Energy Physics, Laboratory Directed Research and Development, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory
Openalex Percentile: Top 2%
Neutrino Physics Research
11.22
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