Tension between MiniBooNE and MicroBooNE within a 3+1 Sterile Neutrino Framework using Simulation-Based Inference
Abstract
The MiniBooNE low-energy excess and its subsequent exclusion by MicroBooNE provide an important test of sterile-neutrino explanations of short-baseline neutrino anomalies. Such a test is complicated by the fact that both experiments use different approaches to their analyses. In this contribution, we present a consistent approach to both experiments. We perform a joint fit of MiniBooNE and MicroBooNE data to a 3+1 sterile-neutrino model omitting all data-driven factors, using MicroBooNE data from both the Booster Neutrino Beam (BNB) and Neutrinos at the Main Injector (NuMI) beamlines, and evaluate the parameter goodness-of-fit (PG) tension between the two experimental results. A rigorous frequentist treatment of both parameter fitting and PG tension is challenging. Existing methods require asymptotic assumptions known to be inaccurate for neutrino oscillation measurements or repeated likelihood optimization tasks. To this end, we use a previously developed frequentist fitting framework based on simulation-based inference (SBI) and introduce a new SBI-based method for evaluating PG tension that makes the required trial-based calibration computationally feasible. We find that the addition of MicroBooNE reduces the significance of the MiniBooNE preference for sterile-neutrino oscillations, with a trials-based preference for 3+1 remaining at $2.7 σ$. The two experiments exhibit a ≥ 2.5σ PG tension within the 3+1 model.
Related
- Implications for new physics solutions to the LSND and MiniBooNE anomalies after MicroBooNE results
- First Measurement of Differential Cross Sections in Kinematic Imbalance Variables with Electron Neutrino Interactions Using the MicroBooNE Detector
- An effective topology-transfer nuisance for Genie-based neutrino-argon semi-inclusive analyses: a methodological proposal with MicroBooNE-constrained diagnostic
- Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering Simulation Using GENIE Event Generator
- Direct Neutrino Communication Through the Earth: NuMI-Calibrated Simulation and Far-Field Sensitivity
BibTeX
@misc{woodward2026tension,
title = {{Tension between MiniBooNE and MicroBooNE within a 3+1 Sterile Neutrino Framework using Simulation-Based Inference}},
author = {Julia P. Woodward and Austin Schneider and Joshua Villarreal and John Hardin and Janet Conrad},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.26965},
eprint = {2609.26965},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.26965},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Tension between MiniBooNE and MicroBooNE within a 3+1 Sterile Neutrino Framework using Simulation-Based Inference
AU - Julia P. Woodward
AU - Austin Schneider
AU - Joshua Villarreal
AU - John Hardin
AU - Janet Conrad
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/22
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.26965
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.26965
AB - The MiniBooNE low-energy excess and its subsequent exclusion by MicroBooNE provide an important test of sterile-neutrino explanations of short-baseline neutrino anomalies. Such a test is complicated by the fact that both experiments use different approaches to their analyses. In this contribution, we present a consistent approach to both experiments. We perform a joint fit of MiniBooNE and MicroBooNE data to a 3+1 sterile-neutrino model omitting all data-driven factors, using MicroBooNE data from both the Booster Neutrino Beam (BNB) and Neutrinos at the Main Injector (NuMI) beamlines, and evaluate the parameter goodness-of-fit (PG) tension between the two experimental results. A rigorous frequentist treatment of both parameter fitting and PG tension is challenging. Existing methods require asymptotic assumptions known to be inaccurate for neutrino oscillation measurements or repeated likelihood optimization tasks. To this end, we use a previously developed frequentist fitting framework based on simulation-based inference (SBI) and introduce a new SBI-based method for evaluating PG tension that makes the required trial-based calibration computationally feasible. We find that the addition of MicroBooNE reduces the significance of the MiniBooNE preference for sterile-neutrino oscillations, with a trials-based preference for 3+1 remaining at $2.7 σ$. The two experiments exhibit a ≥ 2.5σ PG tension within the 3+1 model.
ER -