Constraints on active-sterile neutrino transition magnetic moments from low-energy electronic recoils at direct detection experiments

Abstract: Sterile neutrinos can potentially be produced through neutrino transition magnetic moments in neutrino-electron scattering. In this work, we probe such interactions for sterile neutrinos in the low-mass regime using low-energy electronic recoil data from direct detection experiments. We derive robust constraints on the active-sterile neutrino transition magnetic moments, scrutinizing PandaX-4T and XENONnT recent datasets. Detailed statistical analyses are performed, providing exclusion limits at both one and two degrees of freedom. We demonstrate that, as we can distinguish neutrino flavors, direct detection experiments offer a unique framework for studying all possible neutrino flavors. The obtained limits are in agreement with existing results in the literature and extend the sensitivity to previously unexplored regions of the parameter space.