Download or read book A Measurement of Electron Neutrino Appearance with the MINOS Experiment written by Joshua Adam Alpern Boehm and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 668 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Measurement of Electron Neutrino Appearance with the MINOS Experiment written by and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 343 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: MINOS is a long-baseline two-detector neutrino oscillation experiment that uses a high intensity muon neutrino beam to investigate the phenomena of neutrino oscillations. By measuring the neutrino interactions in a detector near the neutrino source and again 735 km away from the production site, it is possible to probe the parameters governing neutrino oscillation. The majority of the [nu]{sub {mu}} oscillate to [nu]{sub {tau}} but a small fraction may oscillate instead to [nu]{sub e}. This thesis presents a measurement of the [nu]{sub e} appearance rate in the MINOS far detector using the first two years of exposure. Methods for constraining the far detector backgrounds using the near detector measurements is discussed and a technique for estimating the uncertainty on the background and signal selection are developed. A 1.6[sigma] excess over the expected background rate is found providing a hint of [nu]{sub e} appearance.
Download or read book A Measurement of Electron Neutrino Appearance in the MINOS Experiment After Four Years of Data written by and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This work attempts to measure or set a limit on sin2(2[theta]13), the parameter which describes [nu][mu] 2![nu]e oscillations. The MINOS detectors at Fermilab are used to perform a search for the oscillations utilizing a beam of [nu][mu] neutrinos created in the NuMI beamline by the collisions of 120 GeV protons with a carbon target. These collisions create?{sup {+-}} and K{sup {+-}} which are focused with magnetic horns, are allowed to decay, and result in a beam of [nu][mu] in the energy range of 1 to 30 GeV. Two functionally identical steel-scintillator calorimetric detectors are utilized to measure the interactions of the generated neutrinos. A detector close to the NuMI beam, located 104 m underground and 1040 m from the target, is used to measure the properties of the neutrino beam, including the flux, composition, and energy spectrum. This information is used in part to generate a predicted spectrum of neutrinos in absence of [nu][mu] 2![nu]e oscillations in the detector located far from the target, at a distance of 705 m underground and 735.5 km from the target. An excess of predicted [nu]e charged current events in this far detector will be interpreted as [nu][mu] 2![nu]e oscillations, and a measurement of sin2(2[theta]13) will be made using a Feldman-Cousins analysis. The measurement of [nu][mu] 2![nu]e requires the separation of [nu]e candidates from background events. New reconstruction software was developed with a focus on identifying [nu]e candidate events in order to reduce systematic errors. The event parameters measured by this software were used as an input to an artificial neutral network event discriminator. The details of this reconstruction software and the other steps of the analysis necessary to making the measurement will be discussed. This work builds on a previous measurement made with this experiment. After two years of running with 3.14 x 102° protons-on-target (POT), a limit was set at [delta]CP = 0 for the normal (inverted) hierarchy of sin2(2[theta]13)
Download or read book A Measurement of Electron Neutrino Appearance in the MINOS Experiment After Four Years of Data written by Steven Cavanaugh and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 436 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Electron Neutrino Appearance in the MINOS Experiment written by A. M. Holin and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The MINOS experiment is a long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment which sends a high intensity muon neutrino beam through two functionally identical detectors, a Near detector at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Illinois, 1km from the beam source, and a Far detector, 734km away, in the Soudan Mine in Minnesota. MINOS may be able to measure the neutrino mixing angle parameter sin{ 2}2\theta{_1_3} for the first time. Detector granularity, however, makes it very hard to distinguish any \nu{_e} appearance signal events characteristic of a non-zero value of \theta{_1_3} from background neutral current (NC) and short-track \nu{_\mu} charged current (CC) events. Also, uncertainties in the hadronic shower modeling in the kinematic region characteristic of this analysis are relatively large. A new data-driven background decomposition method designed to address those issues is developed and its results presented. By removing the long muon tracks from \nu{_\mu}-CC events, the Muon Removed Charge Current (MRCC) method creates independent pseudo-NC samples that can be used to correct the MINOS Monte Carlo to agree with the high-statistics Near detector data and to decompose the latter into components so as to predict the expected Far detector background. The MRCC method also provides an important cross-check in the Far detector to test the background in the signal selected region. MINOS finds a 1.0-1.5 \sigma\nu{_e}-CC excess above background in the Far detector data, depending on method used, for a total exposure of 3.14x10{ 20} protons-on-target. Interpreting this excess as signal, MINOS can set limits on sin{ 2}2\theta{_1_3}. Using the MRCC method, MINOS sets a limit of sin{ 2}2\theta{_1_3}
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 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 Electron Neutrino Appearance in the MINOS Experiment written by Mhair-Armen Hagop Orchanian and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 450 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Electron Neutrino Appearance in the MINOS Experiment written by and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 229 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The MINOS experiment is a long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment which sends a high intensity muon neutrino beam through two functionally identical detectors, a Near detector at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Illinois, 1km from the beam source, and a Far detector, 734km away, in the Soudan Mine in Minnesota. MINOS may be able to measure the neutrino mixing angle parameter sin2 2[theta] 13 for the rst time. Detector granularity, however, makes it very hard to distinguish any e appearance signal events characteristic of a non-zero value of [theta] 13 from background neutral current (NC) and short-track v[mu] charged current (CC) events. Also, uncertainties in the hadronic shower modeling in the kinematic region characteristic of this analysis are relatively large. A new data-driven background decomposition method designed to address those issues is developed and its results presented. By removing the long muon tracks from v[mu]-CC events, the Muon Removed Charge Current (MRCC) method creates independent pseudo-NC samples that can be used to correct the MINOS Monte Carlo to agree with the high-statistics Near detector data and to decompose the latter into components so as to predict the expected Far detector background. The MRCC method also provides an important cross-check in the Far detector to test the background in the signal selected region. MINOS finds a 1.0-1.5 [sigma] ve-CC excess above background in the Far detector data, depending on method used, for a total exposure of 3.14 x 1020 protons-on-target. Interpreting this excess as signal, MINOS can set limits on sin2 2[theta] 13. Using the MRCC method, MINOS sets a limit of sin2 2 [theta] 13
Download or read book Electron Neutrino Appearance in the MINOS Experiment written by Anna Maria Holin and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
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 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 Electron Neutrino Appearance 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: The NuMI Off-Axis $\nu_e$ Appearance (NO$\nu$A) experiment is a long baseline, off-axis neutrino oscillation experiment. It is designed to search for oscillations of $\nu_\mu$ to $\nu_e$ by comparing measurements of the NuMI beam composition in two detectors. These two detectors are functionally identical, nearly fully-active liquid-scintillator tracking calorimeters and located at two points along the beam line to observe the neutrinos. The Near Detector (ND), situated \unit[1]{km} away from the proton target at Fermilab, measures neutrinos prior to oscillation. Then the Far Detector (FD), located 810 km away at Ash River, Minnesota, measures the neutrinos after they have traveled and potentially oscillated. The neutrino beam is generated at Fermi Nation al Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois by the Neutrinos at the Main Injector (NuMI) facility. \\~\\ By observing the $\nu_\mu\to\nu_e$ oscillation, NO$\nu$A is capable of measuring the neutrino mass hierarchy, CP violation and the octant of mixing angle $\theta_{23}$. This thesis presents the first measurement of $\nu_e$ appearance in the NO$\nu$A detectors with $3.52\times10^{20}$ protons-on-target (POT) data accumulated from February 2014 till May 2015. In this analysis the primary $\nu_e$ CC particle selection LID observes 6 $\nu_e$ like events in the far detector with a background prediction of $0.99\pm0.11$ (syst.), which corresponds to a $3.3\sigma$ excess over the no-oscillation hypothesis. This results disfavors $0.1\pi
Download or read book A Sterile Neutrino Search with the MINOS Experiment written by and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 179 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The MINOS experiment is a long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment in the the NuMI beamline at Fermilab, USA. Using a near detector at 1 km distance from the neutrino production target, and a far detector at 735 km from the target, it is designed primarily to measure the disappearance of muon neutrinos. This thesis presents an analysis using MINOS data of the possibility of oscil- lation of the neutrinos in the NuMI beam to a hypothetical sterile flavour, which would have no Standard Model couplings. Such oscillations would result in a deficit in the neutral current interaction rate in the MINOS far detector relative to the expectation derived from the near detector data. The method used to identify neutral current and charged current events in the MINOS detectors is described and a new method of predicting and fitting the far detector spectrum presented, along with the effects of systematic uncertainties on the sterile neutrino oscillation analysis. Using this analysis, the fraction f{sub s} of the disappearing neutrinos that go to steriles is constrained to be below 0.15 at the 90% confidence level in the absence of electron neutrino appearance in the NuMI beam. With electron appearance at the CHOOZ limit, f{sub s}
Download or read book Observation of Electron Neutrino Appearance in the NuMI Beam with the NOvA Experiment written by and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 245 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NOvA is a long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment that uses two functionally identical detectors separated by 810 kilometers at locations 14 milliradians o -axis from the NuMI muon neutrino beam at Fermilab. At these locations the beam energy peaks at 2 GeV. This baseline is the longest in the world for an accelerator-based neutrino oscillation experiment, which enhances the sensitivity to the neutrino mass ordering. The experiment studies oscillations of the muon neutrino and anti-neutrino beam that is produced. Both detectors completed commissioning in the summer of 2014 and continue to collect data. One of the primary physics goals of the experiment is the measurement of electron neutrino appearance in the muon neutrino beam which yields measurements of the oscillation parameters sin22[theta]13, [delta], and the neutrino mass ordering within the standard model of neutrino oscillations. This thesis presents the analysis of data collected between February 2014 and May 2015, corresponding to 3.52 X 1020 protons-on-target. In this first analysis NOvA recorded 6 electron neutrino candidates which is a 3.3[sigma] observation of electron neutrino appearance. The T2K experiment performs the same measurement on a baseline of 295 kilometers and has a 1 [sigma] preference for the normal mass ordering over the inverted ordering over the phase space of the CP violating parameter [delta], which is also weakly seen in the NOvA result. By the summer of 2016 NOvA will triple its statistics due to increased beam power and a completed detector. If electron neutrinos continue to be observed at the current rate NOvA will be able to establish a mass ordering preference at a similar con dence level to T2K.
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 Electron Neutrino Appearance in the Nova Experiment written by Ji Liu and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 187 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The NuMI Off-Axis $\nu_e$ Appearance (NO$\nu$A) experiment is a long baseline, off-axis neutrino oscillation experiment. It is designed to search for oscillations of $\nu_\mu$ to $\nu_e$ by comparing measurements of the NuMI beam composition in two detectors. These two detectors are functionally identical, nearly fully-active liquid-scintillator tracking calorimeters and located at two points along the beam line to observe the neutrinos. The Near Detector (ND), situated \unit[1]{km} away from the proton target at Fermilab, measures neutrinos prior to oscillation. Then the Far Detector (FD), located 810 km away at Ash River, Minnesota, measures the neutrinos after they have traveled and potentially oscillated. The neutrino beam is generated at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois by the Neutrinos at the Main Injector (NuMI) facility. By observing the $\nu_\mu\to\nu_e$ oscillation, NO$\nu$A is capable of measuring the neutrino mass hierarchy, CP violation and the octant of mixing angle $\theta_{23}$. This thesis presents the first measurement of $\nu_e$ appearance in the NO$\nu$A detectors with $3.52\times10^{20}$ protons-on-target (POT) data accumulated from February 2014 till May 2015. In this analysis the primary $\nu_e$ CC particle selection LID observes 6 $\nu_e$ like events in the far detector with a background prediction of $0.99\pm0.11$ (syst.), which corresponds to a $3.3\sigma$ excess over the no-oscillation hypothesis. This results disfavors $0.1\pi
