Abstract
We present an analysis of MicroBooNE data with a signature of one muon, no pions, and at least one proton above a momentum threshold of 300 MeV/c (CC0πNp). This is the first differential cross-section measurement of this topology in neutrino-argon interactions. We achieve a significantly lower proton momentum threshold than previous carbon and scintillator-based experiments. Using data collected from a total of approximately 1.6×1020 protons on target, we measure the muon neutrino cross section for the CC0πNp interaction channel in argon at MicroBooNE in the Booster Neutrino Beam which has a mean energy of around 800 MeV. We present the results from a data sample with estimated efficiency of 29% and purity of 76% as differential cross sections in five reconstructed variables: the muon momentum and polar angle, the leading proton momentum and polar angle, and the muon-proton opening angle. We include smearing matrices that can be used to “forward fold” theoretical predictions for comparison with these data. We compare the measured differential cross sections to a number of recent theory predictions demonstrating largely good agreement with this first-ever dataset on argon.36 MoreReceived 7 October 2020Accepted 24 November 2020DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.102.112013Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI. Funded by SCOAP3.Published by the American Physical SocietyPhysics Subject Headings (PhySH)Research AreasNucleus-neutrino interactionsParticles & Fields
Highlights
A comprehensive understanding of neutrino interactions is one of the core needs of neutrino oscillation experiments [1]
The MicroBooNE experiment [7] consists of a liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) in the Fermilab Booster Neutrino Beam (BNB)
We specify that at least one proton above 300 MeV=c momentum must be detected, there are no protons with momentum greater than 1;200 MeV=c, and the muon momentum must be greater than 100 MeV=c
Summary
A comprehensive understanding of neutrino interactions is one of the core needs of neutrino oscillation experiments [1]. When only the muon is detected, the event can be mistaken as a CCQE interaction, leading to a bias in neutrino energy estimations To avoid this problem, a common signal definition used is CC0π or “CCQE-like” where the final state has one muon and any number of protons but no pions above the detection threshold of the experiment. By presenting these spectra for CC0πNp events, a broad picture of muon neutrino interactions in argon is provided and model dependence in these results is decreased To best describe these data, comparisons need to include all contributing mechanisms listed in the signal definition (in the preceding paragraph) and should be folded with the smearing matrices provided because the data are not corrected for detector resolution effects.
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