Abstract
The MiniBooNE experiment at Fermilab reports results from an analysis of appearance data from protons on target in neutrino mode, an increase of approximately a factor of 2 over previously reported results. A charged-current quasielastic event excess of events () is observed in the energy range . Combining these data with the appearance data from protons on target in antineutrino mode, a total plus charged-current quasielastic event excess of events () is observed. If interpreted in a two-neutrino oscillation model, , the best oscillation fit to the excess has a probability of 21.1%, while the background-only fit has a probability of relative to the best fit. The MiniBooNE data are consistent in energy and magnitude with the excess of events reported by the Liquid Scintillator Neutrino Detector (LSND), and the significance of the combined LSND and MiniBooNE excesses is . A two-neutrino oscillation interpretation of the data would require at least four neutrino types and indicate physics beyond the three neutrino paradigm. Although the data are fit with a two-neutrino oscillation model, other models may provide better fits to the data.
- Received 30 May 2018
- Revised 28 September 2018
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.121.221801
Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI. Funded by SCOAP3.
Published by the American Physical Society
Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)
Viewpoint
The Plot Thickens for a Fourth Neutrino
Published 26 November 2018
Confirming previous controversial results, the MiniBooNE experiment detects a signal that is incompatible with neutrino oscillations involving just the three known flavors of neutrinos.
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