arXiv subjects

B. Hreljac

Publications and source records attributed to B. Hreljac.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Measurement of reactor antineutrino oscillations with 1.46 ktonne-years of data at SNO+

The SNO+ Collaboration reports new results on reactor antineutrino oscillations using data acquired from May 2022 through July 2025. The spectral analysis of a flux dominated by nuclear reactors at 240, 350, and 355 kilometers yields the mass-squared difference $\Delta m^2_{21}=(7.93^{+0.21}_{-0.24})\times 10^{-5}$ eV$^2$. This result is compatible with and approaches the precision of the only other long-baseline reactor antineutrino measurement, by KamLAND. Combining these measurements, along with those from solar neutrino experiments, the global values of the neutrino mixing parameters become: $\Delta m^2_{21}$ = $(7.63\pm0.17)\times 10^{-5}$ eV$^2$ and $\sin^2{\theta_{12}}=0.310\pm0.012$. The analysis of geoneutrinos at SNO+ is also improved, with a measured signal of 49$^{+13}_{-12}$ TNU.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2025

Cosmogenic Neutron Production in Water at SNO+

Accurate measurement of the cosmogenic muon-induced neutron yield is crucial for constraining a significant background in a wide range of low-energy physics searches. Although previous underground experiments have measured this yield across various cosmogenic muon energies, SNO+ is uniquely positioned due to its exposure to one of the highest average cosmogenic muon energies at $364\,\text{GeV}$. Using ultra-pure water, we have determined a neutron yield of $Y_{n}=(3.38^{+0.23}_{-0.30})\times10^{-4}\,\text{cm}^{2}\text{g}^{-1}\mu^{-1}$ at SNO+. Comparison with simulations demonstrates clear agreement with the FLUKA neutron production model, highlighting discrepancies with the widely used GEANT4 model. Furthermore, this measurement reveals a lower cosmogenic neutron yield than that observed by the SNO experiment, which used heavy water under identical muon flux conditions. This result provides new evidence that nuclear structure and target material composition significantly influence neutron production by cosmogenic muons, offering fresh insight with important implications for the design and background modelling of future underground experiments.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2025

First Evidence of Solar Neutrino Interactions on $^{13}$C

The SNO+ Collaboration reports the first evidence of $^{8}\text{B}$ solar neutrinos interacting on $^{13}\text{C}$ nuclei. The charged current interaction proceeds through $^{13}\text{C} + \nu_e \rightarrow {}^{13}\text{N} + e^-$ which is followed, with a 10 minute half-life, by ${}^{13}\text{N} \rightarrow {}^{13}\text{C} + e^+ +\nu_e .$ The detection strategy is based on the delayed coincidence between the electron and the positron. Evidence for the charged current signal is presented with a significance of 4.2$\sigma$. Using the natural abundance of $^{13}\text{C}$ present in the scintillator, 5.7 tonnes of $^{13}\text{C}$ over 231 days of data were used in this analysis. The 5.6$^{+3.0}_{-2.3}$ observed events in the data set are consistent with the expectation of 4.7$^{+0.6}_{-1.3}$ events. This result is the second real-time measurement of CC interactions of $^{8}\text{B}$ neutrinos with nuclei and constitutes the lowest energy observation of neutrino interactions on $^{13}\text{C}$ generally. This enables the first direct measurement of the CC $\nu_e$ reaction to the ground state of ${}^{13}\text{N}$, yielding an average cross section of $(16.1 ^{+8.5}_{-6.7} (\text{stat.}) ^{+1.6}_{-2.7} (\text{syst.}) )\times 10^{-43}$ cm$^{2}$ over the relevant $^{8}\text{B}$ solar neutrino energies.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2024

Measurement of the $^8$B Solar Neutrino Flux Using the Full SNO+ Water Phase Dataset

The SNO+ detector operated initially as a water Cherenkov detector. The implementation of a sealed covergas system midway through water data taking resulted in a significant reduction in the activity of $^{222}$Rn daughters in the detector and allowed the lowest background to the solar electron scattering signal above 5 MeV achieved to date. This paper reports an updated SNO+ water phase $^8$B solar neutrino analysis with a total livetime of 282.4 days and an analysis threshold of 3.5 MeV. The $^8$B solar neutrino flux is found to be $\left(2.32^{+0.18}_{-0.17}\text{(stat.)}^{+0.07}_{-0.05}\text{(syst.)}\right)\times10^{6}$ cm$^{-2}$s$^{-1}$ assuming no neutrino oscillations, or $\left(5.36^{+0.41}_{-0.39}\text{(stat.)}^{+0.17}_{-0.16}\text{(syst.)} \right)\times10^{6}$ cm$^{-2}$s$^{-1}$ assuming standard neutrino oscillation parameters, in good agreement with both previous measurements and Standard Solar Model Calculations. The electron recoil spectrum is presented above 3.5 MeV.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2024

Initial measurement of reactor antineutrino oscillation at SNO+

The SNO+ collaboration reports its first spectral analysis of long-baseline reactor antineutrino oscillation using 114 tonne-years of data. Fitting the neutrino oscillation probability to the observed energy spectrum yields constraints on the neutrino mass-squared difference $\Delta m^2_{21}$. In the ranges allowed by previous measurements, the best-fit $\Delta m^2_{21}$ is (8.85$^{+1.10}_{-1.33}$) $\times$ 10$^{-5}$ eV$^2$. This measurement is continuing in the next phases of SNO+ and is expected to surpass the present global precision on $\Delta m^2_{21}$ with about three years of data.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2023

Event-by-Event Direction Reconstruction of Solar Neutrinos in a High Light-Yield Liquid Scintillator

The direction of individual $^8$B solar neutrinos has been reconstructed using the SNO+ liquid scintillator detector. Prompt, directional Cherenkov light was separated from the slower, isotropic scintillation light using time information, and a maximum likelihood method was used to reconstruct the direction of individual scattered electrons. A clear directional signal was observed, correlated with the solar angle. The observation was aided by a period of low primary fluor concentration that resulted in a slower scintillator decay time. This is the first time that event-by-event direction reconstruction in high light-yield liquid scintillator has been demonstrated in a large-scale detector.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2022

A Method to Load Tellurium in Liquid Scintillator for the Study of Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay

A method has been developed to load tellurium into liquid scintillator so as to permit searches for neutrinoless double beta decay with high sensitivity. The approach involves the synthesis of an oil-soluble tellurium compound from telluric acid and an organic diol. The process utilises distillable chemicals that can be safely handled underground and affords low radioactive backgrounds, low optical absorption and high light yields at loading levels of at least several percent Te by weight.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2021

The SNO+ Experiment

The SNO+ experiment is located 2 km underground at SNOLAB in Sudbury, Canada. A low background search for neutrinoless double beta ($0\nu\beta\beta$) decay will be conducted using 780 tonnes of liquid scintillator loaded with 3.9 tonnes of natural tellurium, corresponding to 1.3 tonnes of $^{130}$Te. This paper provides a general overview of the SNO+ experiment, including detector design, construction of process plants, commissioning efforts, electronics upgrades, data acquisition systems, and calibration techniques. The SNO+ collaboration is reusing the acrylic vessel, PMT array, and electronics of the SNO detector, having made a number of experimental upgrades and essential adaptations for use with the liquid scintillator. With low backgrounds and a low energy threshold, the SNO+ collaboration will also pursue a rich physics program beyond the search for $0\nu\beta\beta$ decay, including studies of geo- and reactor antineutrinos, supernova and solar neutrinos, and exotic physics such as the search for invisible nucleon decay. The SNO+ approach to the search for $0\nu\beta\beta$ decay is scalable: a future phase with high $^{130}$Te-loading is envisioned to probe an effective Majorana mass in the inverted mass ordering region.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2020

Development, characterisation, and deployment of the SNO+ liquid scintillator

A liquid scintillator consisting of linear alkylbenzene as the solvent and 2,5-diphenyloxazole as the fluor was developed for the SNO+ experiment. This mixture was chosen as it is compatible with acrylic and has a competitive light yield to pre-existing liquid scintillators while conferring other advantages including longer attenuation lengths, superior safety characteristics, chemical simplicity, ease of handling, and logistical availability. Its properties have been extensively characterized and are presented here. This liquid scintillator is now used in several neutrino physics experiments in addition to SNO+.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2020

Measurement of neutron-proton capture in the SNO+ water phase

The SNO+ experiment collected data as a low-threshold water Cherenkov detector from September 2017 to July 2019. Measurements of the 2.2-MeV $\gamma$ produced by neutron capture on hydrogen have been made using an Am-Be calibration source, for which a large fraction of emitted neutrons are produced simultaneously with a 4.4-MeV $\gamma$. Analysis of the delayed coincidence between the 4.4-MeV $\gamma$ and the 2.2-MeV capture $\gamma$ revealed a neutron detection efficiency that is centered around 50% and varies at the level of 1% across the inner region of the detector, which to our knowledge is the highest efficiency achieved among pure water Cherenkov detectors. In addition, the neutron capture time constant was measured and converted to a thermal neutron-proton capture cross section of $336.3^{+1.2}_{-1.5}$ mb.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2019

Measurement of the $^8$B Solar Neutrino Flux in SNO+ with Very Low Backgrounds

A measurement of the $^8$B solar neutrino flux has been made using a 69.2 kt-day dataset acquired with the SNO+ detector during its water commissioning phase. At energies above 6 MeV the dataset is an extremely pure sample of solar neutrino elastic scattering events, owing primarily to the detector's deep location, allowing an accurate measurement with relatively little exposure. In that energy region the best fit background rate is $0.25^{+0.09}_{-0.07}$ events/kt-day, significantly lower than the measured solar neutrino event rate in that energy range, which is $1.03^{+0.13}_{-0.12}$ events/kt-day. Also using data below this threshold, down to 5 MeV, fits of the solar neutrino event direction yielded an observed flux of $2.53^{+0.31}_{-0.28}$(stat.)$^{+0.13}_{-0.10}$(syst.)$\times10^6$ cm$^{-2}$s$^{-1}$, assuming no neutrino oscillations. This rate is consistent with matter enhanced neutrino oscillations and measurements from other experiments.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2018

Search for invisible modes of nucleon decay in water with the SNO+ detector

This paper reports results from a search for nucleon decay through 'invisible' modes, where no visible energy is directly deposited during the decay itself, during the initial water phase of SNO+. However, such decays within the oxygen nucleus would produce an excited daughter that would subsequently de-excite, often emitting detectable gamma rays. A search for such gamma rays yields limits of $2.5 \times 10^{29}$ y at 90% Bayesian credibility level (with a prior uniform in rate) for the partial lifetime of the neutron, and $3.6 \times 10^{29}$ y for the partial lifetime of the proton, the latter a 70% improvement on the previous limit from SNO. We also present partial lifetime limits for invisible dinucleon modes of $1.3\times 10^{28}$ y for $nn$, $2.6\times 10^{28}$ y for $pn$ and $4.7\times 10^{28}$ y for $pp$, an improvement over existing limits by close to three orders of magnitude for the latter two.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2016

Current Status and Future Prospects of the SNO+ Experiment

SNO+ is a large liquid scintillator-based experiment located 2km underground at SNOLAB, Sudbury, Canada. It reuses the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory detector, consisting of a 12m diameter acrylic vessel which will be filled with about 780 tonnes of ultra-pure liquid scintillator. Designed as a multipurpose neutrino experiment, the primary goal of SNO+ is a search for the neutrinoless double-beta decay (0$νββ$) of 130Te. In Phase I, the detector will be loaded with 0.3% natural tellurium, corresponding to nearly 800 kg of 130Te, with an expected effective Majorana neutrino mass sensitivity in the region of 55-133 meV, just above the inverted mass hierarchy. Recently, the possibility of deploying up to ten times more natural tellurium has been investigated, which would enable SNO+ to achieve sensitivity deep into the parameter space for the inverted neutrino mass hierarchy in the future. Additionally, SNO+ aims to measure reactor antineutrino oscillations, low-energy solar neutrinos, and geoneutrinos, to be sensitive to supernova neutrinos, and to search for exotic physics. A first phase with the detector filled with water will begin soon, with the scintillator phase expected to start after a few months of water data taking. The 0$νββ$ Phase I is foreseen for 2017.

physics.ins-det↗