End of the hunt for sterile neutrinos: how one mathematical simplification misled physicists for decades

In fundamental physics, there is a strict rule for validating any discovery: the statistical significance of an observed effect must exceed a threshold of five standard deviations, denoted as five sigma. This criterion means that the probability of random error or statistical fluctuation is less than one in 3.5 million. For thirty years, experiments in neutrino physics have observed a phenomenon that fully satisfied this strict criterion yet stood in direct contradiction to the prevailing theory of matter structure. This phenomenon entered scientific literature under the name "gallium anomaly." [Image caption: Core nuclear reactor apparatus component; free interpretation Source: www.bing.com] Source: www.bing.com The essence of the problem lay in a persistent…