Georgia Karagiorgi

In Search of New Neutrino Physics with MicroBooNE

Abstract:
Over the past several decades, neutrino experiments have led us to adopt a prescription of neutrino oscillation parametrized in terms of neutrino mass and mixing involving three neutrino states. Yet, the origin of neutrino mass remains unknown, and, with that, important questions about the nature of matter and antimatter remain unanswered. Additionally, a series of experimental anomalies, including an unexplained excess of electron neutrino-like interactions seen by the MiniBooNE experiment, hints at the existence of new physics, e.g. additional “sterile” neutrino states, further complicating the three-neutrino picture.

MicroBooNE, the first large-scale liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) built and operated in the U.S., was proposed to investigate the anomalous excess observed by MiniBooNE, and to further develop the LArTPC detector technology toward the sensitivity and scale required by future-generation neutrino oscillation experiments. Operated in the Booster Neutrino Beamline at Fermilab during 2015-2021, MicroBooNE has illustrated the power of LArTPC technology in delivering precision neutrino physics with a wide array of measurements including cross-section measurements, detector physics studies, and beyond-Standard-Model physics searches. In this talk, I will present the recent results from MicroBooNE’s first series of analyses investigating the MiniBooNE anomalous excess, and discuss them within the context of some of the more popular interpretations of the MiniBooNE anomaly.