Probing Sterile Neutrinos with the NOvA Near Detector

The NOvA experiment uses the NuMI beam at Fermilab and two functionally identical liquid-scintillator detectors—a ~300-ton Near Detector (ND) ~1 km from the target and a 14-kton Far Detector (FD) 810 km away in Ash River, Minnesota—positioned ~14 mrad off-axis to study neutrino oscillations.The experiment aims to determine the neutrino mass ordering, make precise measurement of neutrino mixing parameters, and investigate potential CP violation in the lepton sector by studying (anti)neutrino flavor oscillations. This poster outlines the ND short-baseline sterile-neutrino search using a joint neutrino (FHC) and antineutrino (RHC) dataset in a framework with three active and one sterile neutrino. We describe the analysis plan and current status—building oscillatable spectra for ν_μ disappearance and ν_e appearance with updated selections and validations—and we will present the current status of the analysis and the planned steps toward the combined ν/ν̄ fit.