arXiv subjects

H. Schellman

Publications and source records attributed to H. Schellman.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Comparisons of triple-differential cross sections for quasielastic-like $\nu_\mu$-hydrocarbon interactions using $\langle E_\nu\rangle \sim$ 3~GeV versus $\sim$ 6~GeV beams in MINERvA

Neutrino charged-current quasielastic-like scattering, a reaction category extensively used in neutrino oscillation measurements, receives contributions from single nucleon knockout processes, multinucleon processes, and inelastic scattering with subsequent rescattering or absorption in the nucleus to produce only nucleons in the final state. In this article, comparisons are presented of the same measurement in two different wideband neutrino beams: one beam peaks near 3 GeV with few neutrinos above 6 GeV; the other peaks near 6 GeV with few neutrinos above 10 GeV. Comparisons of differential cross sections in muon and proton kinematics for these two exposures probe deviations from free-neutron scattering that arise from the processes involving the nuclear medium, and provide a test of neutrino interaction models used to infer neutrino energies in oscillation experiments. Discrepancies are observed between the data and predictions that point to overestimates of the final state interactions of both protons and charged pions in quasielastic-like events.

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arXiv2026

Measurement of Inclusive Charged-Current $\bar{\nu}_{\mu}$ Scattering on C, CH, Fe, and Pb at $\langle E_{\bar{\nu}}\rangle \sim$ 6 GeV with MINERvA

We report MINERvA's first measurement of inclusive charged-current $\bar{\nu}_\mu$ cross sections on carbon, hydrocarbon, iron, and lead, and their ratios to the cross section on hydrocarbon, as functions of the antimuon transverse momentum, $p_{\mathrm{T}}$. Using a wide-band $\bar{\nu}_\mu$ beam with mean energy $\sim 6~\text{GeV}$, these measurements probe all interaction modes, including the transition from resonance production to deep-inelastic scattering. The total uncertainties are typically $5-10\%$ for the absolute cross sections and $2-5\%$ for the ratios. Comparisons with multiple neutrino interaction models reveal significant discrepancies in the $p_{\mathrm{T}}$ dependence, particularly for heavier nuclei. The disagreements are most pronounced at low $p_{\mathrm{T}}$ but extend across the full $p_{\mathrm{T}}$ range, indicating missing or mis-modelled nuclear effects.

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arXiv2025

The Nucleon Axial Form Factor from Elementary Target Data

Precise neutrino-nucleon amplitudes are essential ingredients for predicting neutrino event rates in current and upcoming long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments. A common neutrino interaction with a low reaction threshold and with most of the energy carried by two final state particles is quasielastic scattering, for which the nucleon axial form factor, $F_{A}(Q^{2})$, is a dominant source of uncertainty. Improvements to the nucleon axial form factor rely on neutrino scattering data with elementary targets to reduce or eliminate the need for nuclear modeling systematics. This work examines constraints on the nucleon axial form factor that can be achieved from datasets of neutrino scattering on deuterium targets, Lattice QCD predictions, and from the recent hydrogen target data from the MINERvA Collaboration. Significant tension is found between hydrogen and deuterium target data, suggesting that extractions from deuterium underestimate both the central value and uncertainty of the form factor. Parameterizations for and uncertainties of the nucleon axial form factor using the $z$ expansion are provided.

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arXiv2025

Boosted decision tree reweighting of simulated neutrino interactions for $O(1)$ GeV neutrino cross section measurements

This paper illustrates a generic method for multi-dimensional reweighting of $O(1)$ GeV neutrino interaction Monte Carlo samples. The reweighting is based on a Boosted Decision Tree algorithm trained on high-dimensional space in detector final-state observables. This enables one generator's events to be reweighted so that its reconstructed particle content and kinematics distributions, as well as detector efficiency, match those of a target model. The approach establishes an efficient way to reuse legacy Monte Carlo data, avoiding re-generation. As an example, we test its use in a measurement of transverse kinematic imbalance of the $\mu^-$ and proton in charged-current quasielastic like $\nu_\mu$ events from the MINERvA experiment.

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arXiv2025

Measurement of charged-current $\nu_\mu$ and $\bar{\nu}_\mu$ cross sections on hydrocarbon in a shallow inelastic scattering region

This MINERvA analysis is the first neutrino and antineutrino study of a shallow inelastic scattering region, which is the transition region between resonant production and deep inelastic scattering processes. This transition is explicitly included in this study by expanding the scope of shallow inelastic scattering to include not only the mainly lower-$Q^2$ nonresonant pion production but also the kinematic region where pion production off quarks within the nucleon becomes significant with $Q^2$ below the onset of the deep-inelastic scattering region defined in this analysis. To reduce the resonance background the kinematic region 1.5 $<$ $W$ $<$ 2 GeV/$c^2$ was chosen. In addition to the inclusive differential cross section measurements, to emphasize SIS interactions off quarks within the nucleon a sample with $Q^2$ $\geq$ 1 GeV/$c^2$ was also analyzed. The measurements of one-dimensional cross sections at $\left\langle E_\nu \right\rangle \sim 6$ GeV on hydrocarbon of $Q^2$, Bjorken x and muon momentum variables are compared with modified predictions from the GENIE 2 neutrino generator as well as predictions of other neutrino simulators GiBUU, NEUT, NuWro and an alternative GENIE 3 version. Significant discrepancies both in shape and magnitude between measurements and neutrino simulator predictions of all variables have been observed.

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arXiv2025

Measurement of the A dependence of the muon neutrino charged-current quasielastic-like cross section as a function of muon and proton kinematics at $<$E$_{\nu}>\sim$6 GeV

The first simultaneous measurements of the $\nu_{\mu}$ quasielastic-like cross section on C, CH, H$_2$0, Fe, and Pb targets as a function of kinematic imbalance variables in the plane transverse to the incoming neutrino direction are presented. These variables combine the muon and proton information to provide a new way to disentangle the effects of the nucleus in quasielastic-like processes. The data were obtained using a wide-band $\nu_{\mu}$ beam with $<$E$_{\nu}>\sim$6 GeV. Cross-section ratios of the different target materials to CH are also shown. These measurements are used to explore the nature of the cross-section $A$-scaling, as well as initial and final state interaction effects. Comparisons are made to predictions from a number of commonly used neutrino Monte Carlo event generators. The range of predictions of the different models tends to cover the data but the degree and consistency of the agreement suffers in regions, and on higher $A$ targets, where the final state interactions are expected to be more pronounced.

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arXiv2023

Measurement of Electron Neutrino and Antineutrino Cross Sections at Low Momentum Transfer

Accelerator based neutrino oscillation experiments seek to measure the relative number of electron and muon neutrinos and antineutrinos at different $L/E$ values. However high statistics studies of neutrino interactions are almost exclusively measured using muon neutrinos and antineutrinos since the dominant flavor of neutrinos produced by accelerator based beams are of the muon type. This work reports new measurements of electron neutrino and antineutrino interactions in hydrocarbon, obtained by strongly suppressing backgrounds initiated by muon flavor neutrinos and antineutrinos. Double differential cross sections as a function of visible energy transfer, $E_\text{avail}$, and transverse momentum transfer, $p_T$, or three momentum transfer, $q_3$ are presented.

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arXiv2023

Measurement of the Multi-Neutron $\bar{\nu}_{\mu}$ Charged Current Differential Cross Section at Low Available Energy on Hydrocarbon

Neutron production in antineutrino interactions can lead to bias in energy reconstruction in neutrino oscillation experiments, but these interactions have rarely been studied. MINERvA previously studied neutron production at an average antineutrino energy of ~3 GeV in 2016 and found deficiencies in leading models. In this paper, the MINERvA 6 GeV average antineutrino energy data set is shown to have similar disagreements. A measurement of the cross section for an antineutrino to produce two or more neutrons and have low visible energy is presented as an experiment-independent way to explore neutron production modeling. This cross section disagrees with several leading models' predictions. Neutron modeling techniques from nuclear physics are used to quantify neutron detection uncertainties on this result.

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arXiv2023

Training and Onboarding initiatives in High Energy Physics experiments

In this paper we document the current analysis software training and onboarding activities in several High Energy Physics (HEP) experiments: ATLAS, CMS, LHCb, Belle II and DUNE. Fast and efficient onboarding of new collaboration members is increasingly important for HEP experiments as analyses and the related software become ever more complex with growing datasets. A meeting series was held by the HEP Software Foundation (HSF) in 2022 for experiments to showcase their initiatives. Here we document and analyse these in an attempt to determine a set of key considerations for future experiments.

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arXiv2023

Simultaneous measurement of muon neutrino quasielastic-like cross sections on CH, C, water, Fe, and Pb as a function of muon kinematics at MINERvA

This paper presents the first simultaneous measurement of the quasielastic-like neutrino-nucleus cross sections on C, water, Fe, Pb and scintillator (hydrocarbon or CH) as a function of longitudinal and transverse muon momentum. The ratio of cross sections per nucleon between Pb and CH is always above unity and has a characteristic shape as a function of transverse muon momentum that evolves slowly as a function of longitudinal muon momentum. The ratio is constant versus longitudinal momentum within uncertainties above a longitudinal momentum of 4.5GeV/c. The cross section ratios to CH for C, water, and Fe remain roughly constant with increasing longitudinal momentum, and the ratios between water or C to CH do not have any significant deviation from unity. Both the overall cross section level and the shape for Pb and Fe as a function of transverse muon momentum are not reproduced by current neutrino event generators. These measurements provide a direct test of nuclear effects in quasielastic-like interactions, which are major contributors to long-baseline neutrino oscillation data samples.

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arXiv2022

High-Statistics Measurement of Antineutrino Quasielastic-like scattering at $E_\nu \sim$ 6~GeV on a Hydrocarbon Target

We present measurements of the cross section for anti-neutrino charged-current quasielastic-like scattering on hydrocarbon using the medium energy (ME) NuMI wide-band neutrino beam peaking at $ \sim 6$ GeV. The cross section measurements are presented as a function of the longitudinal momentum ($p_{||}$) and transverse momentum ($p_{T}$) of the final state muon. This work complements our previously reported high statistics measurement in the neutrino channel and extends the previous anti-neutrino measurement made in the low energy (LE) beam at neutrino energy($ $) $\sim$ 3.5 GeV to $p_{T}$ of 2.5 GeV/c. Current theoretical models do not completely describe the data in this previously unexplored high $p_{T}$ region. The single differential cross section as a function of four momentum transfer ($Q^{2}_{QE}$) now extends to 4 GeV$^2$ with high statistics. The cross section as a function of $Q^{2}_{QE}$ shows that the tuned simulations developed by the MINERvA collaboration that agreed well with the low energy beam measurements do not agree as well with the medium energy beam measurements. Newer neutrino interaction models such as the GENIE 3 tunes are better able to simulate the high $Q^{2}_{QE}$.

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arXiv2022

Neutrino-induced coherent $\pi^{+}$ production in C, CH, Fe and Pb at $\langle E_{\nu}\rangle \sim 6$ GeV

MINERvA has measured the $\nu_{\mu}$-induced coherent $\pi^{+}$ cross section simultaneously in hydrocarbon (CH), graphite (C), iron (Fe) and lead (Pb) targets using neutrinos from 2 to 20 GeV. The measurements exceed the predictions of the Rein-Sehgal and Berger-Sehgal PCAC based models at multi-GeV $\nu_{\mu}$ energies and at produced $\pi^{+}$ energies and angles, $E_{\pi}>1$ GeV and $\theta_{\pi}<10^{\circ}$. Measurements of the cross-section ratios of Fe and Pb relative to CH reveal the effective $A$-scaling to increase from an approximate $A^{1/3}$ scaling at few GeV to an $A^{2/3}$ scaling for $E_{\nu}>10$ GeV.

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arXiv2022

Simultaneous measurement of muon neutrino $\nu_\mu$ charged-current single $\pi^+$ production in CH, C, H$_2$O, Fe, and Pb targets in MINERvA

Neutrino-induced charged-current single $\pi^+$ production in the $\Delta(1232)$ resonance region is of considerable interest to accelerator-based neutrino oscillation experiments. In this work, high statistics differential cross sections are reported for the semi-exclusive reaction $\nu_\mu A \to \mu^- \pi^+ +$ nucleon(s) on scintillator, carbon, water, iron, and lead targets recorded by MINERvA using a wide-band $\nu_\mu$ beam with $\left< E_\nu \right> \approx 6$~GeV. Suppression of the cross section at low $Q^2$ and enhancement of low $T_\pi$ are observed in both light and heavy nuclear targets compared to phenomenological models used in current neutrino interaction generators. The cross-section ratios for iron and lead compared to CH across the kinematic variables probed are 0.8 and 0.5 respectively, a scaling which is also not predicted by current generators.

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arXiv2022

Improved constraint on the MINERvA medium energy neutrino flux using $\bar{\nu}e^{-} \!\rightarrow \bar{\nu}e^{-}$ data

Processes with precisely known cross sections, like neutrino electron elastic scattering ($\nu e^{-} \!\rightarrow \nu e^{-}$) and inverse muon decay ($\nu_\mu e^{-} \!\rightarrow \mu^{-} \nu_e$) have been used by MINERvA to constrain the uncertainty on the NuMI neutrino beam flux. This work presents a new measurement of neutrino elastic scattering with electrons using the medium energy \numubar enhanced NuMI beam. A sample of 578 events after background subtraction is used in combination with the previous measurement on the \numu beam and the inverse muon decay measurement to reduce the uncertainty on the \numu flux in the \numu-enhanced beam from 7.6\% to 3.3\% and the \numubar flux in the \numubar-enhanced beam from 7.8\% to 4.7\%.

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arXiv2022

Simultaneous measurement of proton and lepton kinematics in quasielastic-like $\nu_{\mu}$-hydrocarbon interactions from 2 to 20 GeV

Neutrino charged-current quasielastic-like scattering, a reaction category extensively used in neutrino oscillation measurements, probes nuclear effects that govern neutrino-nucleus interactions. This Letter reports the first measurement of the triple-differential cross section for $\nu_{\mu}$ quasielastic-like reactions using the hydrocarbon medium of the MINERvA detector exposed to a wide-band beam spanning 2 $\leq$ E$_\nu \leq$ 20 GeV. The measurement maps the correlations among transverse and longitudinal muon momenta and summed proton kinetic energies, and compares them to predictions from a state-of-art simulation. Discrepancies are observed that likely reflect shortfalls with modeling of pion and nucleon intranuclear scattering and/or spectator nucleon ejection from struck nuclei. The separate determination of leptonic and hadronic variables can inform experimental approaches to neutrino-energy estimation.

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arXiv2022

Low-Energy Physics in Neutrino LArTPCs

In this white paper, we outline some of the scientific opportunities and challenges related to detection and reconstruction of low-energy (less than 100 MeV) signatures in liquid argon time-projection chamber (LArTPC) detectors. Key takeaways are summarized as follows. 1) LArTPCs have unique sensitivity to a range of physics and astrophysics signatures via detection of event features at and below the few tens of MeV range. 2) Low-energy signatures are an integral part of GeV-scale accelerator neutrino interaction final states, and their reconstruction can enhance the oscillation physics sensitivities of LArTPC experiments. 3) BSM signals from accelerator and natural sources also generate diverse signatures in the low-energy range, and reconstruction of these signatures can increase the breadth of BSM scenarios accessible in LArTPC-based searches. 4) Neutrino interaction cross sections and other nuclear physics processes in argon relevant to sub-hundred-MeV LArTPC signatures are poorly understood. Improved theory and experimental measurements are needed. Pion decay-at-rest sources and charged particle and neutron test beams are ideal facilities for experimentally improving this understanding. 5) There are specific calibration needs in the low-energy range, as well as specific needs for control and understanding of radiological and cosmogenic backgrounds. 6) Novel ideas for future LArTPC technology that enhance low-energy capabilities should be explored. These include novel charge enhancement and readout systems, enhanced photon detection, low radioactivity argon, and xenon doping. 7) Low-energy signatures, whether steady-state or part of a supernova burst or larger GeV-scale event topology, have specific triggering, DAQ and reconstruction requirements that must be addressed outside the scope of conventional GeV-scale data collection and analysis pathways.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2021

Measurement of inclusive charged-current $\nu_{\numu}$ scattering on hydrocarbon at { } 6 GeV with low three-momentum transfer

The \minerva experiment reports double-differential cross-section measurements for $\nu_{\mu}$-carbon interactions with three-momentum transfer $|\vec{q}| < 1.2$ GeV obtained with medium energy exposures in the NuMI beam. These measurements are performed as a function of the three-momentum transfer and an energy transfer estimator called the available energy defined as the energy that would be visible in the detector. The double differential cross sections are compared to the GENIE and NuWro predictions along with the modified version of GENIE which incorporates new models for better agreement with earlier measurements from MINERvA. In these measurements, the quasi-elastic, resonance, and multi-nucleon knockout processes appear at different kinematics in this two-dimensional space. The results can be used to improve models for neutrino interactions needed by neutrino oscillation experiments.

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arXiv2021

Exploring Neutrino-Nucleus Interactions in the GeV Regime using MINERvA

With the advance of particle accelerator and detector technologies, the neutrino physics landscape is rapidly expanding. As neutrino oscillation experiments enter the intensity and precision frontiers, neutrino-nucleus interaction measurements are providing crucial input. MINERvA is an experiment at Fermilab dedicated to the study of neutrino-nucleus interactions in the regime of incident neutrino energies from one to few GeV. The experiment recorded neutrino and antineutrino scattering data with the NuMI beamline from 2009 to 2019 using the Low-Energy and Medium-Energy beams that peak at 3 GeV and 6 GeV, respectively. This article reviews the broad spectrum of interesting nuclear and particle physics that MINERvA investigations have illuminated. The newfound, detailed knowledge of neutrino interactions with nuclear targets thereby obtained is proving essential to continued progress in the neutrino physics sector.

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