IFIC Topical Seminar: Sterile neutrinos in 2021, why should we care?

by Ivan Esteban (CCAPP & Ohio State University)

Thursday 16 Dec 2021, 12:00 → 13:00 Europe/Madrid

Primera-1-1-1 - Paterna. Seminario (IFIC)

A spectre is haunting physics — the spectre of sterile neutrinos. Over the past few decades, there have been strong claims that sterile neutrinos with relatively large mixing parameters must exist to explain various persistent anomalies in neutrino physics. But invoking this possibility comes with a high cost: strong tensions are ubiquitous, and they would have profound effects on our understanding of both early universe cosmology and the neutrino emission from astrophysical sources. Progress in precisely exploring these areas demands that we either confirm the anomalies or directly kill them once and for all.

In this talk, I will argue that we need a final resolution of the anomalies as soon as possible. I will overview the latest steps in this direction, which already start to bear fruit in some channels. Due to their recent relevance, I will also discuss the latest results by the MicroBooNE experiment: while a promising start, I will demonstrate that they do not provide a definite answer yet. Finally, I will overview tools that will help future results to be uncontroversial, laying down a roadmap for future success.

 Zoom link