Probing Mysteries In Particle Physics With Neutrino Oscillations

Neutrinos and their unique ability to change flavor, or 'oscillate', have proven to be fascinating remedies to puzzling mysteries in particle physics. By making increasingly precise measurements of neutrino oscillations through observation of neutrino disappearance and appearance at nuclear reactors and accelerators, particle physicists continue to shed light on many of today's most pressing physics puzzles, including the universe's matter-antimatter asymmetry and the existence of physics beyond the Standard Model. In this colloquium, I will present recent neutrino oscillation results from the Daya Bay reactor antineutrino experiment, which provide the world's most precise measurement of the neutrino mixing angle θ₁₃ and greatly improve prospects for measurement of CP-violation at future oscillation experiments. I will also discuss current efforts at the Daya Bay, MicroBooNE, and PROSPECT experiments to utilize precision oscillation measurements to definitively address compelling experimental hints for existence of beyond-the-Standard-Model sterile neutrinos.