Sensitivity to oscillation with a sterile fourth generation neutrino from ultra-low threshold neutrino-nucleus coherent scattering

Understand

We discuss prospects for probing short-range sterile neutrino oscillation using neutrino-nucleus coherent scattering with ultra-low energy ($\sim 10$ eV - 100 eV) recoil threshold cryogenic Ge detectors.

• The analysis is performed in the context of a specific and contemporary reactor-based experimental proposal, developed in cooperation with the Nuclear Science Center at Texas A\&M University, and references developing technology based upon economical and scalable detector arrays.
• The baseline of the experiment is substantially shorter than existing measurements, as near as about 2 meters from the reactor core, and is moreover variable, extending continuously up to a range of about 10 meters.
• This proximity and variety combine to provide extraordinary sensitivity to a wide spectrum of oscillation scales, while facilitating the tidy cancellation of leading systematic uncertainties in the reactor source and environment.