A comparative study of physics capabilities of a liquid argon and a water based liquid scintillator at DUNE

Abstract

We present a comprehensive comparison of the physics sensitivities of a Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LArTPC) and a Water-based Liquid Scintillator (WbLS) detector, considering their potential deployment as the fourth far detector module in the DUNE facility. Using GLoBES-based simulations, we evaluate their performance in measuring standard neutrino oscillation parameters ($\theta_{23}, \delta_{13}$ and $\Delta m^{2}_{31}$), both in standard 3-neutrino case, as well as in presence of new physics scenarios involving light sterile neutrinos and neutral-current non-standard interactions (NC NSI). Our findings show that THEIA (a WbLS-based detector) significantly outperforms LArTPC in resolving the CP phase $\delta_{13}$,- especially near maximal CP violation, and in lifting the octant degeneracy of $\theta_{23}$ due to its superior energy resolution and ability to clearly identify the second oscillation maximum. Furthermore, THEIA offers competitive reconstruction precision even with relatively moderate energy resolutions ($7-10\%/\sqrt{E}$) and demonstrates enhanced robustness under new physics scenarios. These results support the physics-driven case for a hybrid DUNE configuration utilizing both LArTPC and WbLS technologies for optimized sensitivity across the full spectrum of neutrino oscillation and physics beyond the standard model.