Decaying sterile neutrinos and the short baseline oscillation anomalies
Mona Dentler, Ivan Esteban, Joachim Kopp, P. Machado
Abstract
The MiniBooNE experiment has observed a significant excess of electron neutrinos in a muon neutrino beam, in conflict with standard neutrino oscillations. We discuss the possibility that this excess is explained by a sterile neutrino with a mass $\ensuremath{\sim}1\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{keV}$ that decays quickly back into active neutrinos plus a new light boson. This scenario satisfies terrestrial and cosmological constraints because it has neutrino self-interactions built-in. Accommodating also the LSND, reactor, and gallium anomalies is possible, but requires an extension of the model to avoid cosmological limits.
Topics & Concepts
MiniBooNESterile neutrinoNeutrinoPhysicsParticle physicsNeutrino oscillationMuon neutrinoMeasurements of neutrino speedElectron neutrinoSolar neutrinoNuclear physicsCosmic neutrino backgroundSolar neutrino problemNeutrino detectorMuonNeutrino Physics ResearchAstrophysics and Cosmic PhenomenaParticle physics theoretical and experimental studies