MiniBooNE and LSND data: non-standard neutrino interactions in a (3+1) scheme versus (3+2) oscillations

Abstract

The recently observed event excess in MiniBooNE anti-neutrino data is in agreement with the LSND evidence for electron anti-neutrino appearance. We propose an explanation of these data in terms of a (3+1) scheme with a sterile neutrino including non-standard neutrino interactions (NSI) at neutrino production and detection. The interference between oscillations and NSI provides a source for CP violation which we use to reconcile different results from neutrino and anti-neutrino data. Our best fit results imply NSI at the level of a few percent relative to the standard weak interaction, in agreement with current bounds. We compare the quality of the NSI fit to the one obtained within the (3+1) and (3+2) pure oscillation frameworks. We also briefly comment on using NSI (in an effective two-flavour framework) to address a possible difference in neutrino and anti-neutrino results from the MINOS experiment.

28 pages, 9 figures, discussion improved, new appendix added, conclusions unchanged

References in corpus (7)

• Non-Standard Neutrino Interactions with Matter from Physics Beyond the Standard Model
• General bounds on non-standard neutrino interactions
• CP-violation from non-unitary leptonic mixing
• Reconciling results of LSND, MiniBooNE and other experiments with soft decoherence
• Effects of non-standard interactions in the MINOS experiment
• Non-Standard Interaction Effects at Reactor Neutrino Experiments
• Exact and Approximate Formulas for Neutrino Mixing and Oscillations with Non-Standard Interactions

Cited by in corpus (4)

• Limits on Dark Radiation, Early Dark Energy, and Relativistic Degrees of Freedom
• Testing matter effects in propagation of atmospheric and long-baseline neutrinos
• Detecting sterile neutrinos with KATRIN like experiments
• Electroweak nuclear response at moderate momentum transfer