Sensitivity to sterile neutrino mixing using reactor antineutrinos

Abstract

The reactor antineutrinos are used for the precise measurement of oscillation parameters in the 3-neutrino model, and also used to investigate active-sterile neutrino mixing sensitivity in the 3 + 1 neutrino framework. In the present work, we study the feasibility of sterile neutrino search with the indian scintillator matrix for reactor anti-neutrino (ISMRAN) experimental set-up using electron antineutrinos (ν¯ e) produced from reactor as a source. The so-called 3 + 1 scenario is considered for active-sterile neutrino mixing, which leads to projected exclusion curves in the sterile neutrino mass and mixing angle plane. The analysis is performed considering both the reactor and detector related parameters. It is found that, the ISMRAN set-up can observe the active-sterile neutrino mixing sensitivity for sin 22 θ14≥ 0.064 and Δm412=1.0eV 2 at 90 % confidence level for an exposure of 1 ton-year by using neutrinos produced from the DHRUVA reactor with thermal power of 100 MW th. It is also observed that, there is a significant improvement of the active-sterile neutrino mixing parameter sin 22 θ14 to ∼ 0.03 at the same Δm412 by putting the ISMRAN detector set-up at a distance of 20 m from the compact proto-type fast breeder reactor facility with thermal power of 1250 MW th.