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  • Open Access

Sterile neutrino mixing parameters from solar-neutrino coherent scattering

Kevin J. Kelly*, Nityasa Mishra†, and Louis E. Strigari‡

  • Department of Physics and Astronomy, Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, USA

  • *Contact author: kjkelly@tamu.edu
  • †Contact author: nityasa_mishra@tamu.edu
  • ‡Contact author: strigari@tamu.edu
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Phys. Rev. D 114, 075004 – Published 6 October, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/1pzz-hlqd

Abstract

Recently, dark matter direct-detection experiments have begun their exploration of the “neutrino fog,” providing the first hints of detection of solar neutrinos scattering elastically with the nuclei in the detector. In this work, we investigate how such observations can be used to uniquely explore sterile-neutrino parameter space, specifically through mixing with νμ and ντ. While it is challenging to constrain these parameters with current observations—PandaX, XENONnT, and LZ—we demonstrate how future measurements (with modest improvements to exposure and systematic uncertainties) can provide useful, complementary information in the search for sterile neutrinos. With an ideal, next-generation direct-detection facility (∼3000 ton-yr), we can probe parameter space previously unexplored by other methods, including long-baseline and atmospheric searches for this class of new physics.

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Phys. Rev. D 114, 075004– Published 6 October, 2026
  • Received 11 June 2026
  • Accepted 11 September 2026
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