Constraining sterile neutrino interpretations of the LSND and MiniBooNE anomalies with coherent neutrino scattering experiments

Abstract

We propose to test the light sterile neutrino solution to the Liquid Scintillator Neutrino Detector (LSND) and MiniBooNE anomalies by measuring the coherent elastic scattering rate of neutrinos from a pulsed spallation source. Coherent scattering is universal across all active neutrino flavors, and thus can provide a measurement of the total Standard Model neutrino flux. By performing measurements over different baselines and making use of timing information, it is possible to significantly reduce the systematic uncertainties and to independently measure the fluxes of neutrinos that originate as νμ or as either νe or νμ. We find that a 100 kg CsI detector would be sensitive to a large fraction of the sterile neutrino parameter space that could potentially account for the LSND and MiniBooNE anomalies.