Precision neutrino oscillation physics with an intermediate baseline reactor neutrino experiment

We discuss the physics potential of intermediate L~20--30km baseline experiments at reactor facilities. Assuming that the solar neutrino oscillation parameters Δm_² and θ_ lie in the high LMA solution region, we show that such an intermediate baseline reactor experiment can determine both Δm_² and θ_ with a remarkably high precision. We perform also a detailed study of the sensitivity of the indicated experiment to Δmₐₜₘ², which drives the dominant atmospheric ν_μ (ν_μ) oscillations, and to {θ}---the neutrino mixing angle limited by the data from the CHOOZ and Palo Verde experiments. Irrespective of the actual values of Δm_², we find that this experiment can improve the bounds on sin²θ, and, if the value of sin²θ is large enough, sin²θ0.02, the energy resolution of the detector is sufficiently good and if the statistics is relatively high, it can determine with extremely high precision the value of Δmₐₜₘ². We also explore the potential of the intermediate baseline reactor neutrino experiment for determining the type of the neutrino mass spectrum, which can be with normal or inverted hierarchy, assuming Δm_² to lie in the high LMA solution region. We show that the conditions under which the type of neutrino mass hierarchy can be determined are quite challenging, but are within the reach of the experiment under discussion.