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Title: Potential to identify the neutrino mass ordering with reactor antineutrinos at JUNO*
Abstract The Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) is a multi-purpose neutrino experiment under construction in South China. This paper presents an updated estimate of JUNO’s sensitivity to neutrino mass ordering using the reactor antineutrinos emitted from eight nuclear reactor cores in the Taishan and Yangjiang nuclear power plants. This measurement is planned by studying the fine interference pattern caused by quasi-vacuum oscillations in the oscillated antineutrino spectrum at a baseline of 52.5 km and is completely independent of the CP violating phase and neutrino mixing angleθ23. The sensitivity is obtained through a joint analysis of JUNO and Taishan Antineutrino Observatory (TAO) detectors utilizing the best available knowledge to date about the location and overburden of the JUNO experimental site, local and global nuclear reactors, JUNO and TAO detector responses, expected event rates and spectra of signals and backgrounds, and systematic uncertainties of analysis inputs. We find that a 3σmedian sensitivity to reject the wrong mass ordering hypothesis can be reached with an exposure of about 6.5 years × 26.6 GW thermal power.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
2411802
PAR ID:
10618237
Author(s) / Creator(s):
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Publisher / Repository:
IOP Publishing
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Chinese Physics C
Volume:
49
Issue:
3
ISSN:
1674-1137
Page Range / eLocation ID:
033104
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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