Document Type
Article
Publication Date
10-7-2022
Publication Title
Physical Review Letters
Volume
129
Issue
15
Abstract
We present a search for an unstable sterile neutrino by looking for a resonant signal in eight years of atmospheric νμ data collected from 2011 to 2019 at the IceCube Neutrino Observatory. Both the (stable) three-neutrino and the 3+1 sterile neutrino models are disfavored relative to the unstable sterile neutrino model, though with p values of 2.8% and 0.81%, respectively, we do not observe evidence for 3+1 neutrinos with neutrino decay. The best-fit parameters for the sterile neutrino with decay model from this study are Δm412=6.7-2.5+3.9 eV2, sin22θ24=0.33-0.17+0.20, and g2=2.5π±1.5π, where g is the decay-mediating coupling. The preferred regions of the 3+1+decay model from short-baseline oscillation searches are excluded at 90% C.L.
Identifier
85139876147 (Scopus)
Recommended Citation
Abbasi, R.; Ackermann, M.; Adams, J.; Aguilar, J. A.; Ahlers, M.; Ahrens, M.; Alameddine, J. M.; Alves, A. A.; Amin, N. M.; Andeen, K.; Anderson, T.; Anton, G.; Argüelles, C.; Ashida, Y.; Axani, S.; Bai, X.; Balagopal V, A.; Barwick, S. W.; Bastian, B.; Basu, V.; Baur, S.; Bay, R.; Beatty, J. J.; Becker, K. H.; and Becker Tjus, J., "Search for Unstable Sterile Neutrinos with the IceCube Neutrino Observatory" (2022). Physics: Faculty Publications and Other Works. 76.
https://ecommons.luc.edu/physics_facpubs/76
