Experimental Physics
Institute of
Experimental Physics
Experimental Physics
Group research seminar on the status, challenges, and opportunities of coherent electron-neutron scattering
26 June 2025
Photo: UHH
Dr Dimitrios Papoulias delivered an exciting research seminar as part of the group's seminar programme, offering a comprehensive overview of coherent elastic neutrino–nucleus scattering (CEνNS) and its growing importance in particle physics.
CEνNS is the neutrino interaction with the largest cross section at low energies, yet it was only experimentally confirmed in 2017 by the COHERENT Collaboration. Since then, measurements have rapidly expanded to include neutrinos from pion decay-at-rest sources, nuclear reactors, and even the Sun, marking significant progress in low-energy neutrino physics.
In his seminar, Dr Papoulias reviewed the current phenomenological landscape of CEνNS and highlighted its role as a precision probe of the Standard Model. On the Standard Model front, he discussed how CEνNS enables the determination of the weak mixing angle at very low momentum transfer, an essential test of electroweak theory. He also examined how these measurements allow for the extraction of neutron distributions within atomic nuclei, offering valuable input to nuclear structure studies.
Beyond the Standard Model, CEνNS provides a sensitive window into new physics scenarios. Dr Papoulias outlined how current data constrain non-standard neutrino interactions, sterile neutrinos, and possible neutrino electromagnetic properties. Importantly, CEνNS results complement other experimental searches, strengthening the global effort to uncover physics beyond established theories.
The seminar highlighted the potential of CEνNS, a a rapidly evolving field of study, and the rich opportunities for precision tests of fundamental physics and the exploration of new phenomena.
