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MicroBooNE and KATRIN Rule Out Simple Sterile Neutrino Model

New Nature results leave long-standing oscillation anomalies unresolved.

Overview

  • MicroBooNE reports no evidence for a fourth neutrino and rejects the single light 3+1 scenario at about 95% confidence.
  • Using one liquid-argon detector exposed to Fermilab’s Booster and NuMI beams from 2015 to 2021, MicroBooNE excludes nearly the entire previously favored region.
  • KATRIN’s precision beta‑decay measurements find no sign of a sterile state and further narrow the remaining parameter space.
  • The null results remove a leading explanation for LSND and MiniBooNE anomalies, which scientists say still require alternative theories.
  • Teams are analyzing remaining data and expect cross‑checks from other short‑baseline experiments, with techniques feeding into future efforts such as DUNE.