Search for an eV-Scale Sterile Neutrino Using Improved High-Energy 𝜈𝜇 Event Reconstruction in IceCube
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(Published version)
Date
2024
Authors
Abbasi, R.
Ackermann, M.
Adams, J.
Agarwalla, S.K.
Aguilar, J.A.
Ahlers, M.
Alameddine, J.M.
Amin, N.M.
Andeen, K.
Argüelles, C.
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Journal article
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Physical Review Letters, 2024; 133(20):201804-1-201804-10
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IceCube Collaboration
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Abstract
This Letter presents the result of a 3 þ 1 sterile neutrino search using 10.7 yr of IceCube data. We analyze atmospheric muon neutrinos that traverse the Earth with energies ranging from 0.5 to 100 TeV, incorporating significant improvements in modeling neutrino flux and detector response compared to earlier studies. Notably, for the first time, we categorize data into starting and throughgoing events, distinguishing neutrino interactions with vertices inside or outside the instrumented volume, to improve energy resolution. The best-fit point for a 3 þ 1 model is found to be at sin2ð2θ24Þ ¼ 0.16 and Δm2 41 ¼ 3.5 eV2, which agrees with previous iterations of this Letter. The result is consistent with the null hypothesis of no sterile neutrinos with a p value of 3.1%.
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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 .