Speaker
Description
We analytically calculate the conversion probability $P_{\mu e}$ in the presence of sterile neutrinos, with exact dependence on $\Delta m^2_{41}$, and with matter effects explicitly included. Using perturbative expansion in small parameters, we show that the terms involving mixing angles $\theta_{24}$ and $\theta_{34}$ can be separated out, with the effects of the latter only arising due to neutral current forward scattering of active neutrinos. Moreover, the conversion probability $P_{\mu e}$ can be rearranged as a summation of terms of the form $\sin x/x$, which helps in the physical understanding of where the effects of different possible values of $\Delta m^2_{41}$ dominate.
We further focus on the identification of sterile mass ordering at a long baseline experiment like DUNE. Our analytic expressions allow us to predict how the effects of sign of $\Delta m^2_{41}$ would manifest, for both possible signs of $\Delta m^2_{31}$. We numerically calculate the sensitivity of DUNE to sterile mass ordering over a large range of $\Delta m^2_{41}$ and explain the features of this sensitivity using our analytic expressions.
| Session | Neutrino Physics |
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