Download or read book A Study of Muon Neutrino to Electron Neutrino Oscillations in the MINOS Experiment written by and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 303 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The observation of neutrino oscillations (neutrino changing from one flavor to another) has provided compelling evidence that the neutrinos have non-zero masses and that leptons mix, which is not part of the original Standard Model of particle physics. The theoretical framework that describes neutrino oscillation involves two mass scales ([Delta]matm2 and [Delta]msol2), three mixing angles ([theta]12, [theta]23, and [theta]13) and one CP violating phase ([delta]CP). Both mass scales and two of the mixing angles ([theta]12 and [theta]23) have been measured by many neutrino experiments. The mixing angle [theta]13, which is believed to be very small, remains unknown. The current best limit on [theta]13 comes from the CHOOZ experiment: [theta]13

Download or read book A Search for Muon Neutrino to Electron Neutrino Oscillations in the MINOS Experiment written by Juan Pedro Ochoa-Ricoux and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2011-04-11 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The centerpiece of the thesis is the search for muon neutrino to electron neutrino oscillations which would indicate a non-zero mixing angle between the first and third neutrino generations (θ13), currently the “holy grail” of neutrino physics. The optimal extraction of the electron neutrino oscillation signal is based on the novel “library event matching” (LEM) method which Ochoa developed and implemented together with colleagues at Caltech and at Cambridge, which improves MINOS’ (Main Injector Neutrino Oscillator Search) reach for establishing an oscillation signal over any other method. LEM will now be the basis for MINOS’ final results, and will likely keep MINOS at the forefront of this field until it completes its data taking in 2011. Ochoa and his colleagues also developed the successful plan to run MINOS with a beam tuned for antineutrinos, to make a sensitive test of CPT symmetry by comparing the inter-generational mass splitting for neutrinos and antineutrinos. Ochoa’s in-depth, creative approach to the solution of a variety of complex experimental problems is an outstanding example for graduate students and longtime practitioners of experimental physics alike. Some of the most exciting results in this field to emerge in the near future may find their foundations in this thesis.

Download or read book A Study of Muon Neutrino to Electron Neutrino Oscillations in the MINOS Experiment written by Tingjun Yang and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Measuring theta Via Muon Neutrino to Electron Neutrino Oscillations in the MINOS Experiment written by and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the primary goals in neutrino physics at the present moment is to make a measurement of the neutrino oscillation parameter $\theta_$. This parameter, in addition to being unknown, could potentially allow for the introduction of CP violation into the lepton sector. The MINOS long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment has the ability to make a measurement of this parameter, by looking for the oscillation of muon neutrinos to electron neutrinos between a Near and Far Detector over a distance of 735 km. This thesis discusses the development of an analysis framework to search for this oscillation mode. Two major improvements to pre-existing analysis techniques have been implemented by the author. First, a novel particle ID technique based on strip topology, known as the Library Event Matching (LEM) method, is optimized for use in MINOS. Second, a multiple bin likelihood method is developed to fit the data. These two improvements, when combined, increase MINOS' sensitivity to $\sin^2(2\theta_)$ by 27\% over previous analyses. This thesis sees a small excess over background in the Far Detector. A Frequentist interpretation of the data rules out $\theta_=0$ at 91\%. A Bayesian interpretation of the data is also presented, placing the most stringent upper boundary on the oscillation parameter to date, at $\sin^2(2\theta_)

Download or read book New Results for Muon Neutrino to Electron Neutrino Oscillations in the MINOS Experiment written by and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 2 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: MINOS is a long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment situated along Fermilab's high-intensity NuMI neutrino beam. MINOS has completed an updated search for muon neutrino to electron neutrino transitions, observation of which would indicate a non-zero value for the neutrino mixing angle [theta]13. The present 7 x 102° protons-on-target data set represents more than double the exposure used in the previous analysis. The new result and its implications are presented.

Download or read book A Search for Muon Neutrino to Electron Neutrino Oscillations in the MINOS Experiment written by and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We perform a search for v[mu] → ve oscillations, a process which would manifest a nonzero value of the [theta]13 mixing angle, in the MINOS long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment. The analysis consists of searching for an excess of ve charged-current candidate events over the predicted backgrounds, made mostly of neutral-current events with high electromagnetic content. A novel technique to select electron neutrino events is developed, which achieves an improved separation between the signal and the backgrounds, and which consequently yields a better reach in [theta]13. The backgrounds are predicted in the Far Detector from Near Detector measurements. An excess is observed in the Far Detector data over the predicted backgrounds, which is consistent with the background-only hypothesis at 1.2 standard deviations.

Download or read book A Measurement of Neutrino Oscillations with Muon Neutrinos in the MINOS Experiment written by and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Experimental evidence has established that neutrino flavor states evolve over time. A neutrino of a particular flavor that travels some distance can be detected in a different neutrino flavor state. The Main Injector Neutrino Oscillation Search (MINOS) is a long-baseline experiment that is designed to study this phenomenon, called neutrino oscillations. MINOS is based at Fermilab near Chicago, IL, and consists of two detectors: the Near Detector located at Fermilab, and the Far Detector, which is located in an old iron mine in Soudan, MN. Both detectors are exposed to a beam of muon neutrinos from the NuMI beamline, and MINOS measures the fraction of muon neutrinos that disappear after traveling the 734 km between the two detectors. One can measure the atmospheric neutrino mass splitting and mixing angle by observing the energy-dependence of this muon neutrino disappearance. MINOS has made several prior measurements of these parameters. Here I describe recently-developed techniques used to enhance our sensitivity to the oscillation parameters, and I present the results obtained when they are applied to a dataset that is twice as large as has been previously analyzed. We measure the mass splitting ?m232 = (2.32-0.08+0.12) x 10-3 eV2/c4 and the mixing angle sin2(2?32) > 0.90 at 90% C.L. These results comprise the world's best measurement of the atmospheric neutrino mass splitting. Alternative disappearance models are also tested. The neutrino decay hypothesis is disfavored at 7.2? and the neutrino quantum decoherence hypothesis is disfavored at 9.0?.

Download or read book Search for Sterile Neutrinos with the MINOS Long Baseline Experiment written by Ashley Michael Timmons and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-08-10 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This thesis highlights data from MINOS, a long-baseline accelerator neutrino experiment, and details one of the most sensitive searches for the sterile neutrino ever made. Further, it presents a new analysis paradigm to enable this measurement and a comprehensive study of the myriad systematic uncertainties involved in a search for a few-percent effect, while also rigorously investigating the statistical interpretation of the findings in the context of a sterile neutrino model. Among the scientific community, this analysis was quickly recognized as a foundational measurement in light of which all previous evidence for the sterile neutrino must now be (re)interpreted. The existence of sterile neutrinos has long been one of the key questions in the field. Not only are they a central component in many theories of new physics, but a number of past experiments have yielded results consistent with their existence. Nonetheless, they remain controversial: the interpretation of the data showing evidence for these sterile neutrinos is hotly debated.

Download or read book A Study of Muon Neutrino Disappearance in the MINOS Detectors and the NuMI Beam written by and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is now substantial evidence that the proper description of neutrino involves two representations related by the 3 x 3 PMNS matrix characterized by either distinct mass or flavor. The parameters of this mixing matrix, three angles and a phase, as well as the mass differences between the three mass eigenstates must be determined experimentally. The Main Injector Neutrino Oscillation Search experiment is designed to study the flavor composition of a beam of muon neutrinos as it travels between the Near Detector at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory at 1 km from the target, and the Far Detector in the Soudan iron mine in Minnesota at 735 km from the target. From the comparison of reconstructed neutrino energy spectra at the near and far location, precise measurements of neutrino oscillation parameters from muon neutrino disappearance and electron neutrino appearance are expected. It is very important to know the neutrino flux coming from the source in order to achieve the main goal of the MINOS experiment: precise measurements of the atmospheric mass splitting.

Download or read book Measuring 13 Via Muon Neutrino to Electron Neutrino Oscillations in the MINOS Experiment written by Ruth Bushnell Toner and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Improved Search for Muon neutrino to Electron neutrino Oscillations in MINOS written by and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 5 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The authors report the results of a search for?{sub e} appearance in?{sub {mu}} beam in the MINOS long-baseline neutrino experiment. With an improved analysis and an increased exposure of 8.2 x 102° protons on the NuMI target at Fermilab, they find that 2 sin2 (?23) sin2 (?13)

Download or read book Neutrino Oscillations written by Fumihiko Suekane and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-03-23 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Neutrino oscillation (N.O.) is the only firm evidence of the physics beyond the Standard Model of particle physics and is one of the hottest topics in elementary particle physics today. This book focuses on the N.O., from its history to the future prospects, from the basic theories to the experiments. Various phenomena of N.O. are described intuitively with thorough explanations of the fundamental physics behind well-known formulations. For example, while many textbooks start with a discussion of the mixing matrix, this book stresses that N.O. is caused by the transition amplitudes between different neutrino flavors, and that the purpose of N.O. experiments is to measure transition amplitudes and think of its origin. The current understanding of neutrino oscillation is also summarized using the most up-to-date measurements, including the recently measured neutrino mixing angle θ13, and the future prospects of N.O. studies are described as well. The level of this book makes it a bridge between introductory textbooks and scientific papers.

Download or read book Experimental Studies of Neutrino Oscillations written by Takaaki Kajita and published by World Scientific Publishing Company. This book was released on 2016-01-13 with total page 107 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Takaaki Kajita and Arthur McDonald have been jointly awarded the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physics "for the discovery of neutrino oscillations, which shows that neutrinos have mass". Takaaki Kajita is a Japanese physicist who is well known for neutrino experiments at the Kamiokande and the even more outsized Super-Kamiokande. This volume of collected works of Kajita on neutrino oscillations provides a good glimpse into the rise of Asian research in the frontiers of neutrino physics. Japan is now a major force in the study of the three families of neutrinos. Much remains to be done to clarify the Dirac vs. Majorana nature of the neutrino, and the cosmological implications of the neutrino. The collected works of Kajita and his Super-Kamiokande group will leave an indelible footprint in the history of big and better science. Copyright of the cover image belongs to Kamioka Observatory, ICRR (Institute for Cosmic Ray Research), The University of Tokyo.

Download or read book First Measurement of Neutrino and Antineutrino Oscillation at T2K written by Kirsty Elizabeth Duffy and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-09-13 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This thesis reports the measurement of muon neutrino and antineutrino disappearance and electron neutrino and antineutrino appearance in a muon neutrino and antineutrino beam using the T2K experiment. It describes a result in neutrino physics that is a pioneering indication of charge-parity (CP) violation in neutrino oscillation; the first to be obtained from a single experiment. Neutrinos are some of the most abundant—but elusive—particles in the universe, and may provide a promising place to look for a potential solution to the puzzle of matter/antimatter imbalance in the observable universe. It has been firmly established that neutrinos can change flavour (or ‘oscillate’), as recognised by the 2015 Nobel Prize. The theory of neutrino oscillation allows for neutrinos and antineutrinos to oscillate differently (CP violation), and may provide insights into why our universe is matter-dominated. Bayesian statistical methods, including the Markov Chain Monte Carlo fitting technique, are used to simultaneously optimise several hundred systematic parameters describing detector, beam, and neutrino interaction uncertainties as well as the six oscillation parameters.

Download or read book Observing Muon Neutrino to Electron Neutrino Oscillations in the NO nu A Experiment written by and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Recent Results from the MINOS Experiment written by and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 5 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The MINOS experiment utilizes the NuMI beam of muon neutrinos to study the phenomenon of neutrino oscillations. Neutrinos are sent over a baseline of 735 km, with a detector near the production point at Fermilab and one at the Soudan underground laboratory in northern Minnesota. By measuring the disappearance characteristic of oscillations, MINOS has made the best measurement of the atmospheric neutrino mass splitting to date. By looking for electron neutrino appearance, a limit has been placed on the the mixing angle sin2(2[theta]13) of

Download or read book A Study of Neutrino Oscillations in MINOS written by and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: MINOS is a long-baseline neutrino oscillations experiment located at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL), USA. It makes use of the NuMI neutrino beamline and two functionally identical detectors located at distances of H"km and H"35km from the neutrino production target respectively. The Near Detector measures the composition and energy spectrum of the neutrino beam with high precision while the Far Detector looks for evidence of neutrino oscillations. This thesis presents work conducted in two distinct areas of the MINOS experiment: analysis of neutral current and charged current interactions. While charged current events are only sensitive to muon neutrino disappearance, neutral current events can be used to distinguish oscillations into sterile neutrinos from those involving only active neutrino species. A complete, preliminary neutral current study is performed on simulated data. This is followed by a more detailed investigation of neutral current neutrino interactions in the MINOS Near Detector. A procedure identifying neutral current interactions and rejecting backgrounds due to reconstruction failures is developed. Two distinct event classification methods are investigated. The selected neutral current events in the Near Detector are used to extract corrections to the neutral current cross-section in the MINOS Monte Carlo simulation as a function of energy. The resulting correction factors are consistent with unity. The main MINOS charged current neutrino disappearance analysis is described. We present the Monte Carlo tuning procedure, event selection, extrapolation from Near to Far Detector and fit for neutrino oscillations. Systematic errors on this measurement are evaluated and discussed in detail. The data are consistent with neutrino oscillations with the following parameters: 2.74 {sup +0.44}{sub -0.26} x 10−3 eV2 and sin2(2[theta]23)> 0.87 at 68% confidence level.