Improved Constraints on Sterile Neutrinos in the MeV to GeV Mass Range

Abstract

Improved upper bounds are presented on the coupling $|U_{e4}|^2$ of an electron to a sterile neutrino $\nu_4$ from analyses of data on nuclear and particle decays, including superallowed nuclear beta decays, the ratios $R^{(\pi)}_{e/\mu}=BR(\pi^+ \to e^+ \nu_e)/BR(\pi^+ \to \mu^+ \nu_\mu)$, $R^{(K)}_{e/\mu}$, $R^{(D_s)}_{e/\tau}$, and $B^+_{e 2}$ decay, covering the mass range from MeV to GeV.