Showing 1–20 of 20 results for author: Huang, E -

LANSCE-PSR Short-Pulse Upgrade for Improved Dark Sector Particle Searches with the Coherent Captain Mills Experiment

Authors: R. G. Van de Water, S. G. Biedron, E. -C. Huang, A. J. Hurd, W. C. Louis, S. V. Milton, N. A. Moody, P. deNiverville, C. E. Taylor, R. T. Thornton, M. Fazio, S. I. Sosa, T. J. Schaub, J. W. Lewellen

Abstract: Proton beam dumps are prolific sources of charged and neutral pions, enabling a powerful technique to search for dark matter, axions, sterile neutrinos, tests of short baseline anomalies, and precision measurements of coherent nucleus scattering neutrinos (CEvNS). The Lujan neutron elastic scattering center at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) consists of an 800-MeV, short-pulse, 100-… ▽ More Proton beam dumps are prolific sources of charged and neutral pions, enabling a powerful technique to search for dark matter, axions, sterile neutrinos, tests of short baseline anomalies, and precision measurements of coherent nucleus scattering neutrinos (CEvNS). The Lujan neutron elastic scattering center at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) consists of an 800-MeV, short-pulse, 100-kW proton and spallation neutron source where such searches are ongoing with the Coherent CAPTAIN Mills (CCM) 10-ton, liquid argon detector. The employment of fast timing coincidence of the beam with the detector is used to identify signals and reject background. The current beam time width is 300 ns with an intensity of $3.1 \times 10^{13}$ protons per pulse at 20 Hz. With upgrades to the Proton Storage Ring (PSR), the beam time width may be compressed to 30 ns with minimal intensity loss, allowing an increase in the signal to background (S/B) of more than 100 and an increase in the sensitivity for dark matter and sterile neutrino searches of an order of magnitude. This can be achieved with PSR accelerator upgrades on a time scale of a few years and at a modest cost. △ Less

Submitted 4 April, 2022; originally announced April 2022.

Comments: 6 pages, 3 figures, contribution to Snowmass 2021

Report number: LA-UR-22-22687

MiniBooNE and MicroBooNE Combined Fit to a 3+1 Sterile Neutrino Scenario

Authors: A. A. Aguilar-Arevalo, B. C. Brown, J. M. Conrad, R. Dharmapalan, A. Diaz, Z. Djurcic, D. A. Finley, R. Ford, G. T. Garvey, S. Gollapinni, A. Hourlier, E. -C. Huang, N. W. Kamp, G. Karagiorgi, T. Katori, T. Kobilarcik, K. Lin, W. C. Louis, C. Mariani, W. Marsh, G. B. Mills, J. Mirabal-Martinez, C. D. Moore, R. H. Nelson, J. Nowak , et al. (14 additional authors not shown)

Abstract: This letter presents the results from the MiniBooNE experiment within a full "3+1" scenario where one sterile neutrino is introduced to the three-active-neutrino picture. In addition to electron-neutrino appearance at short-baselines, this scenario also allows for disappearance of the muon-neutrino and electron-neutrino fluxes in the Booster Neutrino Beam, which is shared by the MicroBooNE experim… ▽ More This letter presents the results from the MiniBooNE experiment within a full "3+1" scenario where one sterile neutrino is introduced to the three-active-neutrino picture. In addition to electron-neutrino appearance at short-baselines, this scenario also allows for disappearance of the muon-neutrino and electron-neutrino fluxes in the Booster Neutrino Beam, which is shared by the MicroBooNE experiment. We present the 3+1 fit to the MiniBooNE electron-(anti)neutrino and muon-(anti)neutrino data alone, and in combination with MicroBooNE electron-neutrino data. The best-fit parameters of the combined fit with the exclusive CCQE analysis (inclusive analysis) are $Δm^2 = 0.29 eV^2 (0.33 eV^2)$, $|U_{e4}|^2 = 0.016 (0.500)$, $|U_{μ4}|^2 = 0.500 (0.500)$, and $\sin^2(2θ_{μe})=0.0316 (1.0)$. Comparing the no-oscillation scenario to the 3+1 model, the data prefer the 3+1 model with a $Δχ^2/\text{dof} = 24.7 / 3 (17.3 / 3)$, a $4.3σ(3.4σ)$ preference assuming the asymptotic approximation given by Wilks' theorem. △ Less

Submitted 9 September, 2022; v1 submitted 5 January, 2022; originally announced January 2022.

Comments: 10 pages, 4 figures, 2 table

MiniBooNE Data Releases

Authors: A. A. Aguilar-Arevalo, B. C. Brown, J. M. Conrad, R. Dharmapalan, A. Diaz, Z. Djurcic, D. A. Finley, R. Ford, G. T. Garvey, S. Gollapinni, A. Hourlier, E. -C. Huang, N. W. Kamp, G. Karagiorgi, T. Katori, T. Kobilarcik, K. Lin, W. C. Louis, C. Mariani, W. Marsh, G. B. Mills, J. Mirabal-Martinez, C. D. Moore, R. H. Nelson, J. Nowak , et al. (16 additional authors not shown)

Abstract: The MiniBooNE experiment has provided data releases for most publications. Occasionally it is necessary to move data release pages. This document provides a single point of reference that will be updated by the collaboration to point to the present location of the MiniBooNE data releases. The MiniBooNE experiment has provided data releases for most publications. Occasionally it is necessary to move data release pages. This document provides a single point of reference that will be updated by the collaboration to point to the present location of the MiniBooNE data releases. △ Less

Submitted 25 October, 2021; originally announced October 2021.

Comments: 2 pages, 0 figures

First Measurement of Differential Charged Current Quasielastic-like $ν_μ$-Argon Scattering Cross Sections with the MicroBooNE Detector

Authors: P. Abratenko, M. Alrashed, R. An, J. Anthony, J. Asaadi, A. Ashkenazi, S. Balasubramanian, B. Baller, C. Barnes, G. Barr, V. Basque, L. Bathe-Peters, O. Benevides Rodrigues, S. Berkman, A. Bhanderi, A. Bhat, M. Bishai, A. Blake, T. Bolton, L. Camilleri, D. Caratelli, I. Caro Terrazas, R. Castillo Fernandez, F. Cavanna, G. Cerati , et al. (159 additional authors not shown)

Abstract: We report on the first measurement of flux-integrated single differential cross sections for charged-current (CC) muon neutrino ($ν_μ$) scattering on argon with a muon and a proton in the final state, $^{40}$Ar($ν_μ$,$μ$p)X. The measurement was carried out using the Booster Neutrino Beam at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and the MicroBooNE liquid argon time projection chamber detector with… ▽ More We report on the first measurement of flux-integrated single differential cross sections for charged-current (CC) muon neutrino ($ν_μ$) scattering on argon with a muon and a proton in the final state, $^{40}$Ar($ν_μ$,$μ$p)X. The measurement was carried out using the Booster Neutrino Beam at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and the MicroBooNE liquid argon time projection chamber detector with an exposure of 4.59 $\times$ 10$^{19}$ protons on target. Events are selected to enhance the contribution of CC quasielastic (CCQE) interactions. The data are reported in terms of a total cross section as well as single differential cross sections in final state muon and proton kinematics. We measure the integrated per-nucleus CCQE-like cross section (i.e. for interactions leading to a muon, one proton and no pions above detection threshold) of (4.93 $\pm$ 0.76stat $\pm$ 1.29sys) $\times$ 10$^{-38}$cm$^2$, in good agreement with theoretical calculations. The single differential cross sections are also in overall good agreement with theoretical predictions, except at very forward muon scattering angles that correspond to low momentum-transfer events. △ Less

Submitted 5 October, 2020; v1 submitted 29 May, 2020; originally announced June 2020.

Comments: Accepted for publication in PRL. 8 pages, 3 figures, 1 table and online supplementary materials

Report number: FNAL PUB-20-226-ND

Journal ref: Phys. Rev. Lett. 125, 201803 (2020)

Search for heavy neutral leptons decaying into muon-pion pairs in the MicroBooNE detector

Authors: P. Abratenko, M. Alrashed, R. An, J. Anthony, J. Asaadi, A. Ashkenazi, S. Balasubramanian, B. Baller, C. Barnes, G. Barr, V. Basque, S. Berkman, A. Bhanderi, A. Bhat, M. Bishai, A. Blake, T. Bolton, L. Camilleri, D. Caratelli, I. Caro Terrazas, R. Castillo Fernandez, F. Cavanna, G. Cerati, Y. Chen, E. Church , et al. (159 additional authors not shown)

Abstract: We present upper limits on the production of heavy neutral leptons (HNLs) decaying to $μπ$ pairs using data collected with the MicroBooNE liquid-argon time projection chamber (TPC) operating at Fermilab. This search is the first of its kind performed in a liquid-argon TPC. We use data collected in 2017 and 2018 corresponding to an exposure of $2.0 \times 10^{20}$ protons on target from the Fermila… ▽ More We present upper limits on the production of heavy neutral leptons (HNLs) decaying to $μπ$ pairs using data collected with the MicroBooNE liquid-argon time projection chamber (TPC) operating at Fermilab. This search is the first of its kind performed in a liquid-argon TPC. We use data collected in 2017 and 2018 corresponding to an exposure of $2.0 \times 10^{20}$ protons on target from the Fermilab Booster Neutrino Beam, which produces mainly muon neutrinos with an average energy of $\approx 800$ MeV. HNLs with higher mass are expected to have a longer time-of-flight to the liquid-argon TPC than Standard Model neutrinos. The data are therefore recorded with a dedicated trigger configured to detect HNL decays that occur after the neutrino spill reaches the detector. We set upper limits at the $90\%$ confidence level on the element $\lvert U_{\mu4}\rvert^2$ of the extended PMNS mixing matrix in the range $\lvert U_{\mu4}\rvert^2<(6.6$-$0.9)\times 10^{-7}$ for Dirac HNLs and $\lvert U_{\mu4}\rvert^2<(4.7$-$0.7)\times 10^{-7}$ for Majorana HNLs, assuming HNL masses between $260$ and $385$ MeV and $\lvert U_{e 4}\rvert^2 = \lvert U_{τ4}\rvert^2 = 0$. △ Less

Submitted 12 February, 2020; v1 submitted 24 November, 2019; originally announced November 2019.

Comments: 11 pages, 9 figures. Final accepted version by Phys. Rev. D, minor textual changes

Report number: FERMILAB-PUB-19-581-ND

Journal ref: Phys. Rev. D 101, 052001 (2020)

First Measurement of Inclusive Muon Neutrino Charged Current Differential Cross Sections on Argon at $E_ν\sim 0.8$ GeV with the MicroBooNE Detector

Authors: P. Abratenko, C. Adams, M. Alrashed, R. An, J. Anthony, J. Asaadi, A. Ashkenazi, M. Auger, S. Balasubramanian, B. Baller, C. Barnes, G. Barr, M. Bass, F. Bay, A. Bhat, K. Bhattacharya, M. Bishai, A. Blake, T. Bolton, L. Camilleri, D. Caratelli, I. Caro Terrazas, R. Carr, R. Castillo Fernandez, F. Cavanna , et al. (156 additional authors not shown)

Abstract: We report the first measurement of the double-differential and total muon neutrino charged current inclusive cross sections on argon at a mean neutrino energy of 0.8 GeV. Data were collected using the MicroBooNE liquid argon time projection chamber located in the Fermilab Booster neutrino beam and correspond to $1.6 \times 10^{20}$ protons on target of exposure. The measured differential cross sec… ▽ More We report the first measurement of the double-differential and total muon neutrino charged current inclusive cross sections on argon at a mean neutrino energy of 0.8 GeV. Data were collected using the MicroBooNE liquid argon time projection chamber located in the Fermilab Booster neutrino beam and correspond to $1.6 \times 10^{20}$ protons on target of exposure. The measured differential cross sections are presented as a function of muon momentum, using multiple Coulomb scattering as a momentum measurement technique, and the muon angle with respect to the beam direction. We compare the measured cross sections to multiple neutrino event generators and find better agreement with those containing more complete treatment of quasielastic scattering processes at low $Q^2$. The total flux integrated cross section is measured to be $0.693 \pm 0.010 \, (\text{stat}) \pm 0.165 \, (\text{syst}) \times 10^{-38} \, \text{cm}^{2}$. △ Less

Submitted 30 September, 2019; v1 submitted 23 May, 2019; originally announced May 2019.

Comments: 7 pages, 2 figures

Report number: FERMILAB-PUB-19-235-ND

Journal ref: Phys. Rev. Lett. 123, 131801 (2019)

Design and construction of the MicroBooNE Cosmic Ray Tagger system

Authors: MicroBooNE collaboration, C. Adams, M. Alrashed, R. An, J. Anthony, J. Asaadi, A. Ashkenazi, M. Auger, S. Balasubramanian, B. Baller, C. Barnes, G. Barr, M. Bass, F. Bay, A. Bhat, K. Bhattacharya, M. Bishai, A. Blake, T. Bolton, L. Camilleri, D. Caratelli, I. Caro Terrazas, R. Carr, R. Castillo Fernandez, F. Cavanna , et al. (149 additional authors not shown)

Abstract: The MicroBooNE detector utilizes a liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) with an 85 t active mass to study neutrino interactions along the Booster Neutrino Beam (BNB) at Fermilab. With a deployment location near ground level, the detector records many cosmic muon tracks in each beam-related detector trigger that can be misidentified as signals of interest. To reduce these cosmogenic backgr… ▽ More The MicroBooNE detector utilizes a liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) with an 85 t active mass to study neutrino interactions along the Booster Neutrino Beam (BNB) at Fermilab. With a deployment location near ground level, the detector records many cosmic muon tracks in each beam-related detector trigger that can be misidentified as signals of interest. To reduce these cosmogenic backgrounds, we have designed and constructed a TPC-external Cosmic Ray Tagger (CRT). This sub-system was developed by the Laboratory for High Energy Physics (LHEP), Albert Einstein center for fundamental physics, University of Bern. The system utilizes plastic scintillation modules to provide precise time and position information for TPC-traversing particles. Successful matching of TPC tracks and CRT data will allow us to reduce cosmogenic background and better characterize the light collection system and LArTPC data using cosmic muons. In this paper we describe the design and installation of the MicroBooNE CRT system and provide an overview of a series of tests done to verify the proper operation of the system and its components during installation, commissioning, and physics data-taking. △ Less

Submitted 15 March, 2019; v1 submitted 9 January, 2019; originally announced January 2019.

Rejecting cosmic background for exclusive neutrino interaction studies with Liquid Argon TPCs; a case study with the MicroBooNE detector

Authors: MicroBooNE collaboration, C. Adams, M. Alrashed, R. An, J. Anthony, J. Asaadi, A. Ashkenazi, M. Auger, S. Balasubramanian, B. Baller, C. Barnes, G. Barr, M. Bass, F. Bay, A. Bhat, K. Bhattacharya, M. Bishai, A. Blake, T. Bolton, L. Camilleri, D. Caratelli, I. Caro Terrazas, R. Carr, R. Castillo Fernandez, F. Cavanna , et al. (150 additional authors not shown)

Abstract: Cosmic ray (CR) interactions can be a challenging source of background for neutrino oscillation and cross-section measurements in surface detectors. We present methods for CR rejection in measurements of charged-current quasielastic-like (CCQE-like) neutrino interactions, with a muon and a proton in the final state, measured using liquid argon time projection chambers (LArTPCs). Using a sample of… ▽ More Cosmic ray (CR) interactions can be a challenging source of background for neutrino oscillation and cross-section measurements in surface detectors. We present methods for CR rejection in measurements of charged-current quasielastic-like (CCQE-like) neutrino interactions, with a muon and a proton in the final state, measured using liquid argon time projection chambers (LArTPCs). Using a sample of cosmic data collected with the MicroBooNE detector, mixed with simulated neutrino scattering events, a set of event selection criteria is developed that produces an event sample with minimal contribution from CR background. Depending on the selection criteria used a purity between 50% and 80% can be achieved with a signal selection efficiency between 50% and 25%, with higher purity coming at the expense of lower efficiency. While using a specific dataset from the MicroBooNE detector and selection criteria values optimized for CCQE-like events, the concepts presented here are generic and can be adapted for various studies of exclusive νμ interactions in LArTPCs. △ Less

Submitted 2 January, 2019; v1 submitted 9 December, 2018; originally announced December 2018.

Comments: 12 pages, 10 figures, 1 table

Report number: FERMILAB-PUB-18-677-E

First Measurement of $ν_μ$ Charged-Current $π^{0}$ Production on Argon with a LArTPC

Authors: MicroBooNE collaboration, C. Adams, M. Alrashed, R. An, J. Anthony, J. Asaadi, A. Ashkenazi, M. Auger, S. Balasubramanian, B. Baller, C. Barnes, G. Barr, M. Bass, F. Bay, A. Bhat, K. Bhattacharya, M. Bishai, A. Blake, T. Bolton, L. Camilleri, D. Caratelli, I. Caro Terrazas, R. Carr, R. Castillo Fernandez, F. Cavanna , et al. (150 additional authors not shown)

Abstract: We report the first measurement of the flux-integrated cross section of $ν_μ$ charged-current single $π^{0}$ production on argon. This measurement is performed with the MicroBooNE detector, an 85 ton active mass liquid argon time projection chamber exposed to the Booster Neutrino Beam at Fermilab. This result on argon is compared to past measurements on lighter nuclei to investigate the scaling as… ▽ More We report the first measurement of the flux-integrated cross section of $ν_μ$ charged-current single $π^{0}$ production on argon. This measurement is performed with the MicroBooNE detector, an 85 ton active mass liquid argon time projection chamber exposed to the Booster Neutrino Beam at Fermilab. This result on argon is compared to past measurements on lighter nuclei to investigate the scaling assumptions used in models of the production and transport of pions in neutrino-nucleus scattering. The techniques used are an important demonstration of the successful reconstruction and analysis of neutrino interactions producing electromagnetic final states using a liquid argon time projection chamber operating at the earth's surface. △ Less

Submitted 6 November, 2018; originally announced November 2018.

Journal ref: Phys. Rev. D 99, 091102 (2019)

A Deep Neural Network for Pixel-Level Electromagnetic Particle Identification in the MicroBooNE Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber

Authors: MicroBooNE collaboration, C. Adams, M. Alrashed, R. An, J. Anthony, J. Asaadi, A. Ashkenazi, M. Auger, S. Balasubramanian, B. Baller, C. Barnes, G. Barr, M. Bass, F. Bay, A. Bhat, K. Bhattacharya, M. Bishai, A. Blake, T. Bolton, L. Camilleri, D. Caratelli, I. Caro Terrazas, R. Carr, R. Castillo Fernandez, F. Cavanna , et al. (148 additional authors not shown)

Abstract: We have developed a convolutional neural network (CNN) that can make a pixel-level prediction of objects in image data recorded by a liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) for the first time. We describe the network design, training techniques, and software tools developed to train this network. The goal of this work is to develop a complete deep neural network based data reconstruction cha… ▽ More We have developed a convolutional neural network (CNN) that can make a pixel-level prediction of objects in image data recorded by a liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) for the first time. We describe the network design, training techniques, and software tools developed to train this network. The goal of this work is to develop a complete deep neural network based data reconstruction chain for the MicroBooNE detector. We show the first demonstration of a network's validity on real LArTPC data using MicroBooNE collection plane images. The demonstration is performed for stopping muon and a $ν_μ$ charged current neutral pion data samples. △ Less

Submitted 22 August, 2018; originally announced August 2018.

Journal ref: Phys. Rev. D 99, 092001 (2019)

Dark Matter Search in Nucleon, Pion, and Electron Channels from a Proton Beam Dump with MiniBooNE

Authors: MiniBooNE-DM Collaboration, A. A. Aguilar-Arevalo, M. Backfish, A. Bashyal, B. Batell, B. C. Brown, R. Carr, A. Chatterjee, R. L. Cooper, P. deNiverville, R. Dharmapalan, Z. Djurcic, R. Ford, F. G. Garcia, G. T. Garvey, J. Grange, J. A. Green, E. -C. Huang, W. Huelsnitz, I. L. de Icaza Astiz, G. Karagiorgi, T. Katori, W. Ketchum, T. Kobilarcik, Q. Liu , et al. (20 additional authors not shown)

Abstract: A search for sub-GeV dark matter produced from collisions of the Fermilab 8 GeV Booster protons with a steel beam dump was performed by the MiniBooNE-DM Collaboration using data from $1.86 \times 10^{20}$ protons on target in a dedicated run. The MiniBooNE detector, consisting of 818 tons of mineral oil and located 490 meters downstream of the beam dump, is sensitive to a variety of dark matter in… ▽ More A search for sub-GeV dark matter produced from collisions of the Fermilab 8 GeV Booster protons with a steel beam dump was performed by the MiniBooNE-DM Collaboration using data from $1.86 \times 10^{20}$ protons on target in a dedicated run. The MiniBooNE detector, consisting of 818 tons of mineral oil and located 490 meters downstream of the beam dump, is sensitive to a variety of dark matter initiated scattering reactions. Three dark matter interactions are considered for this analysis: elastic scattering off nucleons, inelastic neutral pion production, and elastic scattering off electrons. Multiple data sets were used to constrain flux and systematic errors, and time-of-flight information was employed to increase sensitivity to higher dark matter masses. No excess from the background predictions was observed, and 90$\%$ confidence level limits were set on the vector portal and leptophobic dark matter models. New parameter space is excluded in the vector portal dark matter model with a dark matter mass between 5 and 50$\,\mathrm{MeV}\,c^{-2}$. The reduced neutrino flux allowed to test if the MiniBooNE neutrino excess scales with the production of neutrinos. No excess of neutrino oscillation events were measured ruling out models that scale solely by number of protons on target independent of beam configuration at 4.6$σ$. △ Less

Submitted 29 March, 2019; v1 submitted 16 July, 2018; originally announced July 2018.

Comments: 19 pages, 25 figures, Data release: http://www-boone.fnal.gov/for_physicists/data_release/dark_matter_prd/ v2 Updated to published version

Report number: LA-UR-18-26421, FERMILAB-PUB-18-334-ND

Journal ref: Phys. Rev. D 98, 112004 (2018)

Significant Excess of ElectronLike Events in the MiniBooNE Short-Baseline Neutrino Experiment

Authors: MiniBooNE Collaboration, A. A. Aguilar-Arevalo, B. C. Brown, L. Bugel, G. Cheng, J. M. Conrad, R. L. Cooper, R. Dharmapalan, A. Diaz, Z. Djurcic, D. A. Finley, R. Ford, F. G. Garcia, G. T. Garvey, J. Grange, E. -C. Huang, W. Huelsnitz, C. Ignarra, R. A. Johnson, G. Karagiorgi, T. Katori, T. Kobilarcik, W. C. Louis, C. Mariani, W. Marsh , et al. (23 additional authors not shown)

Abstract: The MiniBooNE experiment at Fermilab reports results from an analysis of $ν_e$ appearance data from $12.84 \times 10^{20}$ protons on target in neutrino mode, an increase of approximately a factor of two over previously reported results. A $ν_e$ charged-current quasielastic event excess of $381.2 \pm 85.2$ events ($4.5 σ$) is observed in the energy range $200<E_ν^{QE}<1250$~MeV. Combining these da… ▽ More The MiniBooNE experiment at Fermilab reports results from an analysis of $ν_e$ appearance data from $12.84 \times 10^{20}$ protons on target in neutrino mode, an increase of approximately a factor of two over previously reported results. A $ν_e$ charged-current quasielastic event excess of $381.2 \pm 85.2$ events ($4.5 σ$) is observed in the energy range $200<E_ν^{QE}<1250$~MeV. Combining these data with the $\bar ν_e$ appearance data from $11.27 \times 10^{20}$ protons on target in antineutrino mode, a total $ν_e$ plus $\bar ν_e$ charged-current quasielastic event excess of $460.5 \pm 99.0$ events ($4.7 σ$) is observed. If interpreted in a two-neutrino oscillation model, $ν_μ \rightarrow ν_e$, the best oscillation fit to the excess has a probability of $21.1\%$, while the background-only fit has a $χ^2$ probability of $6 \times 10^{-7}$ relative to the best fit. The MiniBooNE data are consistent in energy and magnitude with the excess of events reported by the Liquid Scintillator Neutrino Detector (LSND), and the significance of the combined LSND and MiniBooNE excesses is $6.0 σ$. A two-neutrino oscillation interpretation of the data would require at least four neutrino types and indicate physics beyond the three neutrino paradigm.Although the data are fit with a two-neutrino oscillation model, other models may provide better fits to the data. △ Less

Submitted 26 October, 2018; v1 submitted 30 May, 2018; originally announced May 2018.

Comments: Improved some of the figures and improved the correlation between neutrino and antineutrino data

Report number: LA-UR-18-24586

Journal ref: Phys. Rev. Lett. 121, 221801 (2018)

Comparison of νμ-Ar multiplicity distributions observed by MicroBooNE to GENIE model predictions

Authors: C. Adams, R. An, J. Anthony, J. Asaadi, M. Auger, S. Balasubramanian, B. Baller, C. Barnes, G. Barr, M. Bass, F. Bay, A. Bhat, K. Bhattacharya, M. Bishai, A. Blake, T. Bolton, L. Camilleri, D. Caratelli, R. Castillo Fernandez, F. Cavanna, G. Cerati, H. Chen, Y. Chen, E. Church, D. Cianci , et al. (140 additional authors not shown)

Abstract: We measure a large set of observables in inclusive charged current muon neutrino scattering on argon with the MicroBooNE liquid argon time projection chamber operating at Fermilab. We evaluate three neutrino interaction models based on the widely used GENIE event generator using these observables. The measurement uses a data set consisting of neutrino interactions with a final state muon candidate… ▽ More We measure a large set of observables in inclusive charged current muon neutrino scattering on argon with the MicroBooNE liquid argon time projection chamber operating at Fermilab. We evaluate three neutrino interaction models based on the widely used GENIE event generator using these observables. The measurement uses a data set consisting of neutrino interactions with a final state muon candidate fully contained within the MicroBooNE detector. These data were collected in 2016 with the Fermilab Booster Neutrino Beam, which has an average neutrino energy of 800 MeV, using an exposure corresponding to 5E19 protons-on-target. The analysis employs fully automatic event selection and charged particle track reconstruction and uses a data-driven technique to separate neutrino interactions from cosmic ray background events. We find that GENIE models consistently describe the shapes of a large number of kinematic distributions for fixed observed multiplicity. △ Less

Submitted 26 March, 2019; v1 submitted 17 May, 2018; originally announced May 2018.

Comments: 31 pages, 39 figures, 10 tables

Journal ref: Eur. Phys. J. C (2019) 79:248

Ionization Electron Signal Processing in Single Phase LArTPCs II. Data/Simulation Comparison and Performance in MicroBooNE

Authors: MicroBooNE collaboration, C. Adams, R. An, J. Anthony, J. Asaadi, M. Auger, S. Balasubramanian, B. Baller, C. Barnes, G. Barr, M. Bass, F. Bay, A. Bhat, K. Bhattacharya, M. Bishai, A. Blake, T. Bolton, L. Camilleri, D. Caratelli, R. Carr, I. Caro Terrazas, R. Castillo Fernandez, F. Cavanna, G. Cerati, H. Chen , et al. (146 additional authors not shown)

Abstract: The single-phase liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) provides a large amount of detailed information in the form of fine-grained drifted ionization charge from particle traces. To fully utilize this information, the deposited charge must be accurately extracted from the raw digitized waveforms via a robust signal processing chain. Enabled by the ultra-low noise levels associated with cry… ▽ More The single-phase liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) provides a large amount of detailed information in the form of fine-grained drifted ionization charge from particle traces. To fully utilize this information, the deposited charge must be accurately extracted from the raw digitized waveforms via a robust signal processing chain. Enabled by the ultra-low noise levels associated with cryogenic electronics in the MicroBooNE detector, the precise extraction of ionization charge from the induction wire planes in a single-phase LArTPC is qualitatively demonstrated on MicroBooNE data with event display images, and quantitatively demonstrated via waveform-level and track-level metrics. Improved performance of induction plane calorimetry is demonstrated through the agreement of extracted ionization charge measurements across different wire planes for various event topologies. In addition to the comprehensive waveform-level comparison of data and simulation, a calibration of the cryogenic electronics response is presented and solutions to various MicroBooNE-specific TPC issues are discussed. This work presents an important improvement in LArTPC signal processing, the foundation of reconstruction and therefore physics analyses in MicroBooNE. △ Less

Submitted 11 June, 2018; v1 submitted 7 April, 2018; originally announced April 2018.

Comments: 54 pages, 36 figures; the first part of this work can be found at arXiv:1802.08709

Journal ref: JINST 13 P07007 (2018)

Ionization Electron Signal Processing in Single Phase LArTPCs I. Algorithm Description and Quantitative Evaluation with MicroBooNE Simulation

Authors: MicroBooNE collaboration, C. Adams, R. An, J. Anthony, J. Asaadi, M. Auger, L. Bagby, S. Balasubramanian, B. Baller, C. Barnes, G. Barr, M. Bass, F. Bay, A. Bhat, K. Bhattacharya, M. Bishai, A. Blake, T. Bolton, L. Camilleri, D. Caratelli, R. Castillo Fernandez, F. Cavanna, G. Cerati, H. Chen, Y. Chen , et al. (144 additional authors not shown)

Abstract: We describe the concept and procedure of drifted-charge extraction developed in the MicroBooNE experiment, a single-phase liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC). This technique converts the raw digitized TPC waveform to the number of ionization electrons passing through a wire plane at a given time. A robust recovery of the number of ionization electrons from both induction and collection a… ▽ More We describe the concept and procedure of drifted-charge extraction developed in the MicroBooNE experiment, a single-phase liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC). This technique converts the raw digitized TPC waveform to the number of ionization electrons passing through a wire plane at a given time. A robust recovery of the number of ionization electrons from both induction and collection anode wire planes will augment the 3D reconstruction, and is particularly important for tomographic reconstruction algorithms. A number of building blocks of the overall procedure are described. The performance of the signal processing is quantitatively evaluated by comparing extracted charge with the true charge through a detailed TPC detector simulation taking into account position-dependent induced current inside a single wire region and across multiple wires. Some areas for further improvement of the performance of the charge extraction procedure are also discussed. △ Less

Submitted 9 April, 2018; v1 submitted 23 February, 2018; originally announced February 2018.

Comments: 60 pages, 36 figures. The second part of this work can be found at arXiv:1804.02583

Journal ref: JINST 13 P07006 (2018)

The Pandora multi-algorithm approach to automated pattern recognition of cosmic-ray muon and neutrino events in the MicroBooNE detector

Authors: MicroBooNE collaboration, R. Acciarri, C. Adams, R. An, J. Anthony, J. Asaadi, M. Auger, L. Bagby, S. Balasubramanian, B. Baller, C. Barnes, G. Barr, M. Bass, F. Bay, M. Bishai, A. Blake, T. Bolton, L. Camilleri, D. Caratelli, B. Carls, R. Castillo Fernandez, F. Cavanna, H. Chen, E. Church, D. Cianci , et al. (123 additional authors not shown)

Abstract: The development and operation of Liquid-Argon Time-Projection Chambers for neutrino physics has created a need for new approaches to pattern recognition in order to fully exploit the imaging capabilities offered by this technology. Whereas the human brain can excel at identifying features in the recorded events, it is a significant challenge to develop an automated, algorithmic solution. The Pando… ▽ More The development and operation of Liquid-Argon Time-Projection Chambers for neutrino physics has created a need for new approaches to pattern recognition in order to fully exploit the imaging capabilities offered by this technology. Whereas the human brain can excel at identifying features in the recorded events, it is a significant challenge to develop an automated, algorithmic solution. The Pandora Software Development Kit provides functionality to aid the design and implementation of pattern-recognition algorithms. It promotes the use of a multi-algorithm approach to pattern recognition, in which individual algorithms each address a specific task in a particular topology. Many tens of algorithms then carefully build up a picture of the event and, together, provide a robust automated pattern-recognition solution. This paper describes details of the chain of over one hundred Pandora algorithms and tools used to reconstruct cosmic-ray muon and neutrino events in the MicroBooNE detector. Metrics that assess the current pattern-recognition performance are presented for simulated MicroBooNE events, using a selection of final-state event topologies. △ Less

Submitted 10 August, 2017; originally announced August 2017.

Comments: Preprint to be submitted to The European Physical Journal C

Measurement of cosmic-ray reconstruction efficiencies in the MicroBooNE LArTPC using a small external cosmic-ray counter

Authors: MicroBooNE collaboration, R. Acciarri, C. Adams, R. An, J. Anthony, J. Asaadi, M. Auger, L. Bagby, S. Balasubramanian, B. Baller, C. Barnes, G. Barr, M. Bass, F. Bay, M. Bishai, A. Blake, T. Bolton, L. Camilleri, D. Caratelli, B. Carls, R. Castillo Fernandez, F. Cavanna, H. Chen, E. Church, D. Cianci , et al. (126 additional authors not shown)

Abstract: The MicroBooNE detector is a liquid argon time projection chamber at Fermilab designed to study short-baseline neutrino oscillations and neutrino-argon interaction cross-section. Due to its location near the surface, a good understanding of cosmic muons as a source of backgrounds is of fundamental importance for the experiment. We present a method of using an external 0.5 m (L) x 0.5 m (W) muon co… ▽ More The MicroBooNE detector is a liquid argon time projection chamber at Fermilab designed to study short-baseline neutrino oscillations and neutrino-argon interaction cross-section. Due to its location near the surface, a good understanding of cosmic muons as a source of backgrounds is of fundamental importance for the experiment. We present a method of using an external 0.5 m (L) x 0.5 m (W) muon counter stack, installed above the main detector, to determine the cosmic-ray reconstruction efficiency in MicroBooNE. Data are acquired with this external muon counter stack placed in three different positions, corresponding to cosmic rays intersecting different parts of the detector. The data reconstruction efficiency of tracks in the detector is found to be $ε_{\mathrm{data}}=(97.1\pm0.1~(\mathrm{stat}) \pm 1.4~(\mathrm{sys}))\%$, in good agreement with the Monte Carlo reconstruction efficiency $ε_{\mathrm{MC}} = (97.4\pm0.1)\%$. This analysis represents a small-scale demonstration of the method that can be used with future data coming from a recently installed cosmic-ray tagger system, which will be able to tag $\approx80\%$ of the cosmic rays passing through the MicroBooNE detector. △ Less

Submitted 31 July, 2017; originally announced July 2017.

Comments: 19 pages, 12 figures

Report number: FERMILAB-PUB-17-213-ND

Noise Characterization and Filtering in the MicroBooNE Liquid Argon TPC

Authors: MicroBooNE collaboration, R. Acciarri, C. Adams, R. An, J. Anthony, J. Asaadi, M. Auger, L. Bagby, S. Balasubramanian, B. Baller, C. Barnes, G. Barr, M. Bass, F. Bay, M. Bishai, A. Blake, T. Bolton, B. Bullard, L. Camilleri, D. Caratelli, B. Carls, R. Castillo Fernandez, F. Cavanna, H. Chen, E. Church , et al. (130 additional authors not shown)

Abstract: The low-noise operation of readout electronics in a liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) is critical to properly extract the distribution of ionization charge deposited on the wire planes of the TPC, especially for the induction planes. This paper describes the characteristics and mitigation of the observed noise in the MicroBooNE detector. The MicroBooNE's single-phase LArTPC comprises t… ▽ More The low-noise operation of readout electronics in a liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) is critical to properly extract the distribution of ionization charge deposited on the wire planes of the TPC, especially for the induction planes. This paper describes the characteristics and mitigation of the observed noise in the MicroBooNE detector. The MicroBooNE's single-phase LArTPC comprises two induction planes and one collection sense wire plane with a total of 8256 wires. Current induced on each TPC wire is amplified and shaped by custom low-power, low-noise ASICs immersed in the liquid argon. The digitization of the signal waveform occurs outside the cryostat. Using data from the first year of MicroBooNE operations, several excess noise sources in the TPC were identified and mitigated. The residual equivalent noise charge (ENC) after noise filtering varies with wire length and is found to be below 400 electrons for the longest wires (4.7 m). The response is consistent with the cold electronics design expectations and is found to be stable with time and uniform over the functioning channels. This noise level is significantly lower than previous experiments utilizing warm front-end electronics. △ Less

Submitted 20 May, 2017; originally announced May 2017.

Comments: 36 pages, 20 figures

Journal ref: JINST 12 P08003 (2017)

Michel Electron Reconstruction Using Cosmic-Ray Data from the MicroBooNE LArTPC

Authors: MicroBooNE collaboration, R. Acciarri, C. Adams, R. An, J. Anthony, J. Asaadi, M. Auger, L. Bagby, S. Balasubramanian, B. Baller, C. Barnes, G. Barr, M. Bass, F. Bay, M. Bishai, A. Blake, T. Bolton, L. Bugel, L. Camilleri, D. Caratelli, B. Carls, R. Castillo Fernandez, F. Cavanna, H. Chen, E. Church , et al. (121 additional authors not shown)

Abstract: The MicroBooNE liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) has been taking data at Fermilab since 2015 collecting, in addition to neutrino beam, cosmic-ray muons. Results are presented on the reconstruction of Michel electrons produced by the decay at rest of cosmic-ray muons. Michel electrons are abundantly produced in the TPC, and given their well known energy spectrum can be used to study Mic… ▽ More The MicroBooNE liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) has been taking data at Fermilab since 2015 collecting, in addition to neutrino beam, cosmic-ray muons. Results are presented on the reconstruction of Michel electrons produced by the decay at rest of cosmic-ray muons. Michel electrons are abundantly produced in the TPC, and given their well known energy spectrum can be used to study MicroBooNE's detector response to low-energy electrons (electrons with energies up to ~50 MeV). We describe the fully-automated algorithm developed to reconstruct Michel electrons, with which a sample of ~14,000 Michel electron candidates is obtained. Most of this article is dedicated to studying the impact of radiative photons produced by Michel electrons on the accuracy and resolution of their energy measurement. In this energy range, ionization and bremsstrahlung photon production contribute similarly to electron energy loss in argon, leading to a complex electron topology in the TPC. By profiling the performance of the reconstruction algorithm on simulation we show that the ability to identify and include energy deposited by radiative photons leads to a significant improvement in the energy measurement of low-energy electrons. The fractional energy resolution we measure improves from over 30% to ~20% when we attempt to include radiative photons in the reconstruction. These studies are relevant to a large number of analyses which aim to study neutrinos by measuring electrons produced by $ν_e$ interactions over a broad energy range. △ Less

Submitted 30 August, 2017; v1 submitted 10 April, 2017; originally announced April 2017.

Journal ref: JINST 12 P09014 (2017)

Determination of muon momentum in the MicroBooNE LArTPC using an improved model of multiple Coulomb scattering

Authors: MicroBooNE collaboration, P. Abratenko, R. Acciarri, C. Adams, R. An, J. Asaadi, M. Auger, L. Bagby, S. Balasubramanian, B. Baller, C. Barnes, G. Barr, M. Bass, F. Bay, M. Bishai, A. Blake, T. Bolton, L. Bugel, L. Camilleri, D. Caratelli, B. Carls, R. Castillo Fernandez, F. Cavanna, H. Chen, E. Church , et al. (123 additional authors not shown)

Abstract: We discuss a technique for measuring a charged particle's momentum by means of multiple Coulomb scattering (MCS) in the MicroBooNE liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC). This method does not require the full particle ionization track to be contained inside of the detector volume as other track momentum reconstruction methods do (range-based momentum reconstruction and calorimetric momentum… ▽ More We discuss a technique for measuring a charged particle's momentum by means of multiple Coulomb scattering (MCS) in the MicroBooNE liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC). This method does not require the full particle ionization track to be contained inside of the detector volume as other track momentum reconstruction methods do (range-based momentum reconstruction and calorimetric momentum reconstruction). We motivate use of this technique, describe a tuning of the underlying phenomenological formula, quantify its performance on fully contained beam-neutrino-induced muon tracks both in simulation and in data, and quantify its performance on exiting muon tracks in simulation. Using simulation, we have shown that the standard Highland formula should be re-tuned specifically for scattering in liquid argon, which significantly improves the bias and resolution of the momentum measurement. With the tuned formula, we find agreement between data and simulation for contained tracks, with a small bias in the momentum reconstruction and with resolutions that vary as a function of track length, improving from about 10% for the shortest (one meter long) tracks to 5% for longer (several meter) tracks. For simulated exiting muons with at least one meter of track contained, we find a similarly small bias, and a resolution which is less than 15% for muons with momentum below 2 GeV/c. Above 2 GeV/c, results are given as a first estimate of the MCS momentum measurement capabilities of MicroBooNE for high momentum exiting tracks. △ Less

Submitted 5 October, 2017; v1 submitted 17 March, 2017; originally announced March 2017.