We provide supporting details for the search for a 3+1 sterile neutrino using
data collected over eleven years at the IceCube Neutrino Observatory. The
analysis uses atmospheric muon-flavored ...neutrinos from 0.5 to 100\, TeV that
traverse the Earth to reach the IceCube detector, and finds a best-fit point at
$\sin^2(2\theta_{24}) = 0.16$ and $\Delta m^{2}_{41} = 3.5$ eV$^2$ with a
goodness-of-fit p-value of 12\% and consistency with the null hypothesis of no
oscillations to sterile neutrinos with a p-value of 3.1\%. Several improvements
were made over past analyses, which are reviewed in this article, including
upgrades to the reconstruction and the study of sources of systematic
uncertainty. We provide details of the fit quality and discuss stability tests
that split the data for separate samples, comparing results. We find that the
fits are consistent between split data sets.
This Letter presents the result of a 3+1 sterile neutrino search using 10.7
years of IceCube data. We analyze atmospheric muon neutrinos that traverse the
Earth with energies ranging from 0.5 to 100 ...TeV, incorporating significant
improvements in modeling neutrino flux and detector response compared to
earlier studies. Notably, for the first time, we categorize data into starting
and through-going events, distinguishing neutrino interactions with vertices
inside or outside the instrumented volume, to improve energy resolution. The
best-fit point for a 3+1 model is found to be at $\sin^2(2\theta_{24}) = 0.16$
and $\Delta m^{2}_{41} = 3.5$ eV$^2$, which agrees with previous iterations of
this study. The result is consistent with the null hypothesis of no sterile
neutrinos with a p-value of 3.1\%.
This Letter presents the result of a 3+1 sterile neutrino search using 10.7 years of IceCube data. We analyze atmospheric muon neutrinos that traverse the Earth with energies ranging from 0.5 to 100 ...TeV, incorporating significant improvements in modeling neutrino flux and detector response compared to earlier studies. Notably, for the first time, we categorize data into starting and through-going events, distinguishing neutrino interactions with vertices inside or outside the instrumented volume, to improve energy resolution. The best-fit point for a 3+1 model is found to be at \(\sin^2(2\theta_{24}) = 0.16\) and \(\Delta m^{2}_{41} = 3.5\) eV\(^2\), which agrees with previous iterations of this study. The result is consistent with the null hypothesis of no sterile neutrinos with a p-value of 3.1\%.
We provide supporting details for the search for a 3+1 sterile neutrino using data collected over eleven years at the IceCube Neutrino Observatory. The analysis uses atmospheric muon-flavored ...neutrinos from 0.5 to 100\, TeV that traverse the Earth to reach the IceCube detector, and finds a best-fit point at \(\sin^2(2\theta_{24}) = 0.16\) and \(\Delta m^{2}_{41} = 3.5\) eV\(^2\) with a goodness-of-fit p-value of 12\% and consistency with the null hypothesis of no oscillations to sterile neutrinos with a p-value of 3.1\%. Several improvements were made over past analyses, which are reviewed in this article, including upgrades to the reconstruction and the study of sources of systematic uncertainty. We provide details of the fit quality and discuss stability tests that split the data for separate samples, comparing results. We find that the fits are consistent between split data sets.
