Skip to content
DraconiticResearch
Search Sources API
197,768 studies31 sourcesUpdated 5 min ago
PreprintCC BY 4.0arXiv

Analysis of CONUS+ run 2: Detector performance, background model and CEνNS measurement

  • N. Ackermann
  • H. Bonet
  • C. Buck
  • J. Hakenmüller
  • G. Heusser
  • M. Lindner
  • W. Maneschg
  • M. Meier
  • S. Mertens
  • D. Piani
  • M. Rank
  • T. Rink
7 more authors
  • E. Sánchez García
  • Y. Shi
  • L. Schönfeld
  • I. Stalder
  • H. Strecker
  • J. Wendel
  • J. Woenckhaus
Open at sourcePDFDOICite

Abstract

Coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CEνNS) provides a uniquely sensitive probe of neutrino properties, but its detection requires pushing energy thresholds to the sub-keV scale while controlling backgrounds. The CONUS+ experiment, located at the Leibstadt nuclear power plant, reported the first observation of CEνNS using reactor antineutrinos in 2025. Following a detector upgrade that replaced three of the original 1 kg high-purity germanium detectors with larger 2.42 kg diodes, this paper presents the analysis of the CONUS+ run 2 dataset, including the detector characterization, the background model, the signal prediction and expected sensitivity, and the extraction of the CEνNS signal. The new detectors reach a background level per unit mass reduced by approximately a factor of two relative to the original detectors, while reaching energy thresholds between 140 and 170 eVee. With an exposure of 1296 kg·days reactor-on and 86 kg·days reactor-off, a blind likelihood analysis fitting directly the number of signal counts yields Ns = 1555 ± 152 CEνNS events, corresponding to a significance of 10.2σ. The result is in agreement with the Standard Model expectation of 1701 ± 198 events, with Ns/NSM = 0.91 ± 0.14.

Related

  1. High significance measurement of reactor coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering on germanium by CONUS+
    N. Ackermann, H. Bonet, C. Buck +16
    arXivPreprintCC BY 4.0Full textHigh-energy & particle physicsarXiv
  2. Detector orientation matters: Consequences for gravitational-wave background detectability
    Nelson Christensen, Joseph D. Romano, Mairi Sakellariadou +1
    arXivPreprintarXiv licenceFull textCosmologyInstrumentation & methodsarXiv
  3. Polarized Anisotropic Stochastic Gravitational Wave Background Search with Ground-Based Detector Networks
    Töre Boybeyi, Vuk Mandic
    arXivPreprintarXiv licenceFull textCosmologyInstrumentation & methodsarXiv
  4. Constraints on the Higgs boson total width from on-shell signal-background interference in the H→γγ decay channel with pp collisions at √s=13 TeV with the ATLAS detector
    Georges Aad, Erlend Aakvaag, Braden Keim Abbott +2,881
    HALPreprintCC BY 4.0Full textHigh-energy & particle physicsHALarXiv
  5. Measurement of forward jet suppression in Pb+Pb collisions at √(sNN)=5.02$ TeV with the ATLAS detector
    Georges Aad, Erlend Aakvaag, Braden Keim Abbott +2,877
    HALPreprintLicence not statedHigh-energy & particle physicsNuclear physicsHAL

Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@misc{ackermann2026analysis,
  title = {{Analysis of CONUS+ run 2: Detector performance, background model and CE$ν$NS measurement}},
  author = {N. Ackermann and H. Bonet and C. Buck and J. Hakenmüller and G. Heusser and M. Lindner and W. Maneschg and M. Meier and S. Mertens and D. Piani and M. Rank and T. Rink and E. Sánchez García and Y. Shi and L. Schönfeld and I. Stalder and H. Strecker and J. Wendel and J. Woenckhaus},
  howpublished = {arXiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.37345},
  eprint = {2610.37345},
  archivePrefix = {arXiv},
  url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.37345},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - UNPB
TI  - Analysis of CONUS+ run 2: Detector performance, background model and CEνNS measurement
AU  - N. Ackermann
AU  - H. Bonet
AU  - C. Buck
AU  - J. Hakenmüller
AU  - G. Heusser
AU  - M. Lindner
AU  - W. Maneschg
AU  - M. Meier
AU  - S. Mertens
AU  - D. Piani
AU  - M. Rank
AU  - T. Rink
AU  - E. Sánchez García
AU  - Y. Shi
AU  - L. Schönfeld
AU  - I. Stalder
AU  - H. Strecker
AU  - J. Wendel
AU  - J. Woenckhaus
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/27
PB  - arXiv
DO  - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.37345
UR  - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.37345
AB  - Coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CEνNS) provides a uniquely sensitive probe of neutrino properties, but its detection requires pushing energy thresholds to the sub-keV scale while controlling backgrounds. The CONUS+ experiment, located at the Leibstadt nuclear power plant, reported the first observation of CEνNS using reactor antineutrinos in 2025. Following a detector upgrade that replaced three of the original 1 kg high-purity germanium detectors with larger 2.42 kg diodes, this paper presents the analysis of the CONUS+ run 2 dataset, including the detector characterization, the background model, the signal prediction and expected sensitivity, and the extraction of the CEνNS signal. The new detectors reach a background level per unit mass reduced by approximately a factor of two relative to the original detectors, while reaching energy thresholds between 140 and 170 eV_ee. With an exposure of 1296 kg·days reactor-on and 86 kg·days reactor-off, a blind likelihood analysis fitting directly the number of signal counts yields N_s = 1555 ± 152 CEνNS events, corresponding to a significance of 10.2σ. The result is in agreement with the Standard Model expectation of 1701 ± 198 events, with N_s/N_SM = 0.91 ± 0.14.
ER  -