Revisiting constraints on 3+1 active-sterile neutrino mixing using IceCube data

Abstract

Recent IceCube search results for sterile neutrino increased tension between the combined appearance and disappearance experiments. On the other hand, MiniBooNE latest data confirms at $4.9\sigma$ CL the short-baseline oscillation anomaly. We analyze published IceCube data based on two different active-sterile mixing schemes using one additional sterile neutrino flavor. We present exclusion regions in the parameter ranges $0.01\le {\sin }^2{\theta }_{24}\le 0.1$ and $0.1{\mathrm{eV}}^2\le \Delta m_{42}^2\le 10{\mathrm{eV}}^2$ for the mass-mixing and flavor-mixing schemes. Under the more conservative mass-mixing scheme, $3\sigma$ CL allowed regions for the appearance experiment and MiniBooNE latest result are excluded at $\gtrsim 3\sigma$ CL. In case of less-restrictive flavor-mixing scheme, results from the appearance experiments are excluded at $\gtrsim 2\sigma$ CL. We also find that including prompt component of the atmospheric neutrino flux relaxes constraints on sterile mixing for $\Delta m_{42}^2\gtrsim 1{\mathrm{eV}}^2$.

Comments: 15 pages and 5 figures. Accepted for publication in JHEP