An anomalous measurement of delta m31 squared from neutrino oscillations at the Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment
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Date
2013-04-22
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Vanderbilt University. Department of Physics and Astronomy
Abstract
In 2012, the collaboration overseeing the Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino
Experiment announced results which determined the magnitude of the mixing
angle \theta_{13} with unprecedented precision. However, no attempt was made
in the collaboration’s publications to predict the value of the most
relevant mass-squared difference to the observed oscillation, \delta
m^2_{31}. This paper presents the results of an analysis which suggests that
the Daya Bay data prefers a value of \delta m^2_{31} which is far greater
than its presently recognized value. Specifically, it is found that Daya Bay
predicts \delta m^2_{31} = 3.53_(-1.07)^(+.74) Ă— 10^(-3) eV^2, where the
cited uncertainties correspond to the 99% confidence bounds. This
measurement excludes the most precise current measurement of \delta
m^2_{31}, the MINOS result, at a 99% confidence level and is in turn
excluded by the MINOS data at a 10 \sigma level. The possibility that
sterile neutrino effects are the cause of this anomalous result is
considered and used to suggest further work.
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Keywords
neutrino mixing, neutrino oscillations, oscillation parameters, Daya Bay, sterile neutrino, theta 13, neutrino mass difference