Results from the PROSPECT Neutrino Experiment at HFIR
ORAL
Abstract
The Precision Oscillation and Spectrum (PROSPECT) experiment measures $\bar\nu_e$ emitted by the highly enriched $^{235}$U core of the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) at Oak Ridge National Lab. The two-ton detector has 154 independent liquid scintillator modules, doped with $^6$Li for detection of the delayed neutron from the inverse beta decay reaction $\bar\nu_ep\to e^+n$. PROSPECT sits at the Earth's surface and close to the reactor, yet achieves better than a 1:1 signal-to-background ratio. We have measured the shape of the $\bar\nu_e$ spectrum, and have analyzed it both for sterile neutrino oscillations and for comparison to predictions of the cumulative fission $\beta$ spectrum. Results based on more than six month's running, including reactor on and off comparisons, will be presented.
*This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science and the Heising-Simons Foundation. Additional support is provided by Illinois Institute of Technology, LLNL, NIST, ORNL, Temple University, and Yale University. We gratefully acknowledge the support and hospitality of the High Flux Isotope Reactor, managed by UT-Battelle for the U.S. Department of Energy.
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