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T: Fachverband Teilchenphysik

T 64: Neutrinos, Dunkle Materie und Luftschauer

T 64.1: Gruppenbericht

Dienstag, 1. März 2016, 16:45–17:05, VMP9 SR 30

Sterile neutrino search in the STEREO Experiment — Christian Buck, Manfred Lindner, and •Christian Roca — MPIK

In neutrino oscillations, a canonical understanding has been established during the last decades after the measurement of the mixing angles θ₁₂, θ₂₃, θ₁₃ via solar, atmospheric and, most recently, reactor neutrinos. However, the re-evaluation of the reactor neutrino theoretical flux has forced a re-analysis of most reactor neutrino measurements at short distances. This has led to an unexpected experimental deficit of neutrinos with respect to the theory that needs to be accommodated, commonly known as the "reactor neutrino anomaly". This deficit can be interpreted as the existence of a light sterile neutrino state into which reactor neutrinos oscillate at very short distances. The STEREO experiment aims to find an evidence of such oscillations.

The ILL research reactor in Grenoble (France) operates at a power of 58MW and provides a large flux of electron antineutrinos with an energy range of a few MeV. These neutrinos will be detected in a 2000 liter organic liquid scintillator detector doped with Gadolinium and consisting of 6 cells stacked along the direction of the core. Given the proximity of the detector, neutrinos will only travel a few meters until they interact with the scintillator. The detector will be placed about 10 m from the reactor core, allowing STEREO to be sensitive to oscillations into the above mentioned neutrino sterile state. The project presents a high potential for a discovery that would impact deeply the paradigms of neutrino oscillations and in consequence the current understanding of particle physics and cosmology.