MicroBooNE and the ${\nu }_e$ Interpretation of the MiniBooNE Low-Energy Excess

Abstract

A new generation of neutrino experiments is testing the $4.8\sigma$ anomalous excess of electron-like events observed in MiniBooNE. This is of huge importance for particle physics, astrophysics, and cosmology, not only because of the potential discovery of physics beyond the Standard Model, but also because the lessons we will learn about neutrino-nucleus interactions will be crucial for the worldwide neutrino program. MicroBooNE has recently released results that appear to disfavor several explanations of the MiniBooNE anomaly. Here, we show quantitatively that MicroBooNE results, while a promising start, unquestionably do not probe the full parameter space of sterile neutrino models hinted at by MiniBooNE and other data, nor do they probe the ${\nu }_e$ interpretation of the MiniBooNE excess in a model-independent way. Our analysis code is fully available in https://github.com/Harvard-Neutrino/MicroBooNE-analysis-2021.

7+6 pages, 5+9 figures. v2: version published in Phys.Rev.Lett. New supplemental material with test statistic coverage checks, validation of unfolding method, and Asimov sensitivity comparison. Typos and mislabeling fixed

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