Aachen 2019 – scientific programme

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T: Fachverband Teilchenphysik

T 78: Suche nach Neuen Teilchen IV

T 78.2: Talk

Thursday, March 28, 2019, 16:20–16:35, H07

Statistical methods and issues in sterile neutrino searches — •Birgit Neumair and Matteo Agostini — Technische Universität München, James-Franck-Straße 1, 85748 Garching bei München

In the last years, several neutrino oscillation experiments reported results not compatible within the 3-neutrino model, which hint at the existence of light sterile neutrinos. To test this hypothesis, a large number of short-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments have been constructed, are currently taking data and releasing new results.

In this talk, the statistical issues related to the search for sterile neutrinos are reviewed with focus on short-baseline appearance and disappearance experiments. The sensitivities for limit setting and signal discovery are discussed along with their dependency on the experimental parameters, including the signal rate and the spectral shape. The baseline analysis is built on a profile-likelihood test statistic that extends the unified approach of Feldman and Cousins by introducing nuisance parameters for the signal and background rate. Further, the differences between methods based on a local and global p-value are examined, and the limitations of approaches relying on a Gaussian approximation are explored.

The work is supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG) via the SFB 1258.