New scientific results confirm an abnormality seen in previous experiments, which may point to an as-yet-unconfirmed new elementary particle, the sterile neutrino, or indicate the need for a new interpretation of an aspect of standard model physics. Results of theBEST experiment, a collaboration between Los Alamos National Laboratory and other institutions, were recently published in two journals.
The results are very exciting, according to the lead analyst of one of the teams evaluating the data. We have seen anomalies in previous experiments. It's not clear what this means. There are conflicting results about sterilizable particles. It would be very interesting if the results show that fundamental nuclear or atomic physics are not understood. The Los Alamos team includes other members.
BEST used a synthetic radioisotope of chromium and a 3.4 megacurie source of electron neutrinos to irradiate an inner and outer tank of gall. germanium 71 is produced by the reaction between the electron neutrinos and the gallium.
The rate of germanium production was lower than anticipated. The discrepancy is similar to the anomalies seen in previous experiments.
Los Alamos National Laboratory was a major contributor to the Soviet-American Gallium Experiment in the 1980's. The results of that experiment and others showed a deficit of electron neutrinos, a discrepancy between the predictions and the actual results. An interpretation of the deficit could show the relationship between the two particles.
TheBEST experiment had the same anomalies. There are possibilities of a sterile neutrino being involved. An important part of dark matter may be the hypothetical particle. The measurement for each tank was roughly the same, but lower than expected.
There is a chance of a misunderstanding in the theoretical inputs to the experiment. The cross section of the particle has never been measured. The electron density at the atomic nucleus can be used as a theoretical input to measure the cross section.
The experiment's methodology was thoroughly reviewed to make sure there were no mistakes in the research. Future iteration of the experiment could include a different radiation source with higher energy, longer half life, and sensitivity to shorter waves.
More information: V. V. Barinov et al, Results from the Baksan Experiment on Sterile Transitions (BEST), Physical Review Letters (2022). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.128.232501The search for electron-neutrino transitions to sterile states is part of the Best experiment. There is a DOI titled "10.103/PhysRevC.105.065502".
Journal information: Physical Review Letters
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