An estimate of theta_14 independent of the reactor antineutrino flux determinations

Abstract

In a previous paper [Phys. Rev. D 83, 113013 (2011)] we have shown that the solar sector data (solar and KamLAND) are sensitive to the parameter theta_14, encoding the admixture of the electron neutrino with a fourth (essentially) sterile mass eigenstate. In that work we evidenced that such data prefer a non-zero value of theta_14 and that such a preference is completely degenerate with that of non-zero theta_13. In this report we show how the evidence of theta_13 > 0, recently emerged from global neutrino data analyses, lifts such a degeneracy and disfavors the case of sterile neutrino mixing. By excluding from our analysis the total rate information coming from the reactor experiments we untie our results from any assumption on their flux normalization. In this way, we establish the robust upper bound sin^2 (theta_14) < 0.04 at the 90% C.L.

4 pages, 1 figure, minor changes, matches version accepted by PRD

References in corpus (9)

• Indication of Electron Neutrino Appearance from an Accelerator-produced Off-axis Muon Neutrino Beam
• The Reactor Antineutrino Anomaly
• Improved search for muon-neutrino to electron-neutrino oscillations in MINOS
• Statistical Significance of the Gallium Anomaly
• Measurement of the neutrino mass splitting and flavor mixing by MINOS
• Where we are on ${\theta }_{13}$: addendum to "Global neutrino data and recent reactor fluxes: status of three-flavour oscillation parameters"
• Sterile neutrino oscillations after first MiniBooNE results
• Testing the very-short-baseline neutrino anomalies at the solar sector
• Contrasting solar and reactor neutrinos with a non-zero value of theta13

Cited by in corpus (27)

• Sterile Neutrino Oscillations: The Global Picture
• Update of Short-Baseline Electron Neutrino and Antineutrino Disappearance
• Status of Light Sterile Neutrino Searches
• Light sterile neutrinos
• Reactor antineutrino anomaly in light of recent flux model refinements
• A Sterile Neutrino at DUNE
• Testing 3+1 and 3+2 neutrino mass models with cosmology and short baseline experiments
• Limit on sterile neutrino contribution from the Mainz Neutrino Mass Experiment
• Phenomenology of light sterile neutrinos: a brief review
• Solar neutrino physics with low-threshold dark matter detectors
• Light Sterile Neutrinos: Status and Perspectives
• Neutrino-4 anomaly: oscillations or fluctuations?
• Short-Baseline Electron Neutrino Oscillation Length After Troitsk
• Gallium Anomaly: Critical View from the Global Picture of ${\nu }_e$ and ${\bar{\nu }}_e$ Disappearance
• Joint short- and long-baseline constraints on light sterile neutrinos
• Day-Night Asymmetries in Active-Sterile Solar Neutrino Oscillations
• Physics Potential of ESS$\nu$SB in the presence of a Light Sterile Neutrino
• Probing light sterile neutrinos in medium baseline reactor experiments
• Probing Sterile Neutrino Parameters with Double Chooz, Daya Bay and RENO
• Mass characteristics of active and sterile neutrinos in a phenomenological (3+1+2)-model
• Light sterile neutrino sensitivity of 163Ho experiments
• CP-violating Phases in Active-Sterile Solar Neutrino Oscillations
• An Overview of Neutrino Mixing
• Baseline and other effects for a sterile neutrino at DUNE
• Oscillations Beyond Three-Neutrino Mixing
• Neutrino mass characteristics in a phenomenological 3+2+1 model
• Phenomenology of the Sterile Neutrinos