Prospects for exploring New Physics in Coherent Elastic Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering

Abstract

Coherent Elastic Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering (CE$ν$NS) is a Standard Model process that, although predicted for decades, has only been detected recently by the COHERENT collaboration. Now that CE$ν$NS has been discovered, it provides a new probe for physics beyond the Standard Model. We study the potential to probe New Physics with CE$ν$NS through the use of low temperature bolometers at a reactor source. We consider contributions to CE$ν$NS due to a neutrino magnetic moment (NMM), Non-Standard Interactions (NSI) that may or may not change flavor, and simplified models containing a massive scalar or vector mediator. Targets consisting of Ge, Zn, Si, CaWO$_4$, and Al$_2$O$_3$ are examined. We show that by reaching a percentage-level precision measurement on the CE$ν$NS energy spectrum down to $\mathcal{O}(10)$ eV, forthcoming experiments will improve by two orders of magnitude both the CE$ν$NS-based NMM limit and the search for new massive mediators. Additionally, we demonstrate that such dedicated low-threshold CE$ν$NS experiments will lead to unprecedented constraints on NSI parameters (particularly when multiple targets are combined) which will have major implications for the global neutrino physics program.

25 pages, 14 figures + appendices. v2: Added short discussion of leptoquark constraints. v3: matches version published in JCAP