Phys Rev Lett. 2025 Feb 28;134(8):081804. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.134.081804.
ABSTRACT
We report a search for neutrino oscillations to sterile neutrinos under a model with three active and one sterile neutrinos (3+1 model). This analysis uses the NOvA detectors exposed to the NuMI beam, running in neutrino mode. The data exposure, 13.6×10^{20} protons on target, doubles that previously analyzed by NOvA, and the analysis is the first to use ν_{μ} charged-current interactions in conjunction with neutral-current interactions. Neutrino samples in the near and far detectors are fitted simultaneously, enabling the search to be carried out over a Δm_{41}^{2} range extending 2 (3) orders of magnitude above (below) 1 eV^{2}. NOvA finds no evidence for active-to-sterile neutrino oscillations under the 3+1 model at 90% confidence level. New limits are reported in multiple regions of parameter space, excluding some regions currently allowed by IceCube at 90% confidence level. We additionally set the most stringent limits for anomalous ν_{τ} appearance for Δm_{41}^{2}≤3 eV^{2}.
PMID:40085856 | DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.134.081804
