Searching for a sterile neutrino that mixes predominantly with ντ at B factories

Abstract

The phenomenon of neutrino flavor oscillations motivates searches for sterile neutrinos in a broad range of masses and mixing-parameter values. A sterile neutrino 𝑁 that mixes predominantly with the 𝜏 neutrino is particularly challenging experimentally. To address this challenge, we propose a new method to search for a 𝜈𝜏-mixing 𝑁 that is lighter than the 𝜏 lepton. The method uses the large 𝑒+⁢𝑒−→𝜏+⁢𝜏− samples collected at 𝐵-factory experiments to produce the 𝑁 in 𝜏-lepton decays. We exploit the long lifetime of a sterile neutrino in this mass range to suppress background and apply kinematic and vertexing constraints that enable measuring the sterile-neutrino mass. Estimates for the sensitivities of the BABAR, Belle, and Belle II experiments are calculated and presented.