Probing Neutrinophilic Long-Range Forces at DUNE

Abstract

Neutrino oscillations provide compelling evidence for physics beyond the Standard Model, while the weakly interacting nature of neutrinos makes them powerful probes of new interactions and hidden sectors. In this work, we investigate a \textit{dark neutrino portal} scenario in which neutrino mass generation is linked to a light dark sector charged under a new $U(1)_D$ gauge symmetry. While Standard Model fields remain neutral under $U(1)_D$, the dark neutrino sector is charged and communicates with the Standard Model exclusively through active--dark neutrino mixing. The associated neutrinophilic mediator induces ultra-long-range interactions, whereby electrons and neutrons in the Earth, Moon, Sun, Milky Way, and the cosmological matter distribution generate sizable matter potentials that modify neutrino oscillations. We explore the sensitivity of the upcoming Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE), whose long baseline and pronounced matter effects make it uniquely suited to probe such interactions. We show that DUNE can access previously unexplored regions of parameter space and demonstrate that the same underlying coupling can simultaneously give rise to sizable neutrino self-interactions, including regions relevant for alleviating the Hubble tension, while remaining consistent with current neutrino oscillation constraints.