Accelerator-based Short-baseline Neutrino Oscillation Experiments

Abstract

Over the last two decades, several experiments have reported anomalous results that could be hinting at the exciting possibility of sterile neutrino states in the $eV^{2}$ mass scale. Liquid Argon Time Projection Chambers (LArTPCs) are a particularly promising technology to explore this physics due to their fine-grained tracking and exceptional calorimetric capabilities. The MicroBooNE experiment, a 170 ton LArTPC scheduled to start taking data very soon with Fermilab's Booster Neutrino Beam (BNB), will combine LArTPC development with the main physics goal of understanding the low-energy electromagnetic anomaly seen by the MiniBooNE experiment. Looking towards the future, MicroBooNE will become a part of the \textit{short-baseline neutrino} program which expands the physics capabilities of the BNB in many important ways by adding additional LArTPC detectors to search for light sterile neutrinos and bring a definitive resolution to the set of existing experimental anomalies. This paper will give an overview of the accelerator-based short-baseline neutrino oscillation program with a focus on the MicroBooNE experiment while highlighting the prospects for further addressing the short-baseline anomalies in the near future.