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Reassessing the gallium anomaly using self-consistent electron wave functions

M. Cadeddu1,*, N. Cargioli1,†, G. Carotenuto2,‡, F. Dordei1,§, L. Ferro2,1,∥, and C. Giunti3,¶

  • *Contact author: matteo.cadeddu@ca.infn.it
  • †Contact author: nicola.cargioli@ca.infn.it
  • ‡Contact author: giovanni.carotenuto@terna.it
  • §Contact author: francesca.dordei@cern.ch
  • ∥Contact author: luca.ferro@ca.infn.it
  • Contact author: carlo.giunti@to.infn.it
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Phys. Rev. D 113, 033006 – Published 23 February, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/pz8g-zz1b

Abstract

The gallium anomaly, a persistent discrepancy exceeding 4σ in the Ga71 neutrino capture rates from Cr51 and Ar37 radioactive sources by the GALLEX, SAGE, and recently BEST experiments, has challenged particle physics and nuclear theory for over three decades. We present a new calculation of the neutrino capture cross section, abandoning the conventional leading-order approximation for electronic wave functions by numerically solving the Dirac-Coulomb equation for both bound and continuum electron states. Finally, we reevaluate the gallium anomaly, updating its global significance and presenting the most up-to-date status of its interpretation in terms of sterile neutrinos.

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Phys. Rev. D 113, 033006– Published 23 February, 2026
  • Received 18 November 2025
  • Accepted 23 January 2026
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI. Funded by SCOAP3.

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