The international NOvA collaboration presented new results at the Neutrino 2024 conference in Milan, Italy, on June 17. The collaboration doubled their neutrino data since their previous release four years ago, including adding a new low-energy sample of electron neutrinos. The new results are consistent with previous NOvA results, but with improved precision.
"Getting additional information from reactor experiments enhances our knowledge of the mass ordering and gets us close to exciting territory," said Erika Catano-Mur, a postdoctoral research associate at William & Mary and co-convener of the analysis."We almost have an answer to one of those big questions that we have in neutrino physics. But we're not there yet."
"NOvA is an important player in this because there are unique aspects to all of the various experiments that are trying to measure the same parameters," said Wolcott."We're starting to see a picture come together, but it's murky. Having different measurements that all work together is really important."
"We want to make the most that we can out of the data," said Catano-Mur."What we learn -- not only from the results themselves, but in the process, what we're learning about the analysis methods -- is going to be useful for the next generation of experiments that right now are under construction.