Prospects for exploring New Physics in Coherent Elastic Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering

Open Access
Authors
Publication date 11-2018
Journal Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
Article number 016
Volume | Issue number 2018 | 11
Number of pages 36
Organisations
  • Faculty of Science (FNWI) - Institute of Physics (IoP)
  • Faculty of Science (FNWI) - Institute of Physics (IoP) - Institute for Theoretical Physics Amsterdam (ITFA)
Abstract

Coherent Elastic Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering (CEvNS) is a Standard Model process that, although predicted for decades, has only been detected recently by the COHERENT collaboration. Now that CEvNS has been discovered, it provides a new probe for physics beyond the Standard Model. We study the potential to probe New Physics with CEvNS through the use of low temperature bolometers at a reactor source. We consider contributions to CEvNS due to a neutrino magnetic moment (NMM), Non-Standard Interactions (NSI) that may or may not change flavor, and simplified models containing a massive scalar or vector mediator. Targets consisting of Ge, Zn, Si, CaWO4, and Al2O3 are examined. We show that by reaching a percentage-level precision measurement on the CEvNS energy spectrum down to (10) eV, forthcoming experiments will improve by two orders of magnitude both the CEvNS-based NMM limit and the search for new massive mediators. Additionally, we demonstrate that such dedicated low-threshold CEvNS experiments will lead to unprecedented constraints on NSI parameters (particularly when multiple targets are combined) which will have major implications for the global neutrino physics program.

Document type Article
Language English
Published at https://doi.org/10.1088/1475-7516/2018/11/016
Published at http://arxiv.org/abs/1805.01798
Other links https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85057578279
Downloads
1805.01798 (Submitted manuscript)
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