arXiv subjects

L. Fields

Publications and source records attributed to L. Fields.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2024

$K_S^0$ meson production in inelastic p+p interactions at 31, 40 and 80 GeV/c beam momentum measured by NA61/SHINE at the CERN SPS

Measurements of $K_S^0$ meson production via its $π^{+} π^{-}$ decay mode in inelastic $\textit{p+p}$ interactions at incident projectile momenta of 31, 40 and 80 GeV/$c$ ($\sqrt{s_{NN}}=7.7, 8.8$ and $12.3$ GeV, respectively) are presented. The data were recorded by the NA61/SHINE spectrometer at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron. Double-differential distributions were obtained in transverse momentum and rapidity. The mean multiplicities of $K_S^0$ mesons were determined to be $(5.95 \pm 0.19 (stat) \pm 0.22 (sys)) \times 10^{-2}$ at 31 GeV/$c$, $(7.61 \pm 0.13 (stat) \pm 0.31 (sys)) \times 10^{-2}$ at 40 GeV/$c$ and $(11.58 \pm 0.12 (stat) \pm 0.37 (sys)) \times 10^{-2}$ at 80 GeV/$c$. The results on $K^{0}_{S}$ production are compared with model calculations (Epos1.99, SMASH 2.0 and PHSD) as well as with published data from other experiments.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2024

Search for a critical point of strongly-interacting matter in central $^{40}$Ar +$^{45}$Sc collisions at 13$A$-75$A$ GeV/$c$ beam momentum

The critical point of strongly interacting matter is searched for at the CERN SPS by the NA61/SHINE experiment in central $^{40}$Ar +$^{45}$Sc collisions at 13$A$, 19$A$, 30$A$, 40$A$, and 75$A$ GeV/$c$. The dependence of the second-order scaled factorial moments of proton multiplicity distributions on the number of subdivisions in transverse momentum space is measured. The intermittency analysis uses statistically independent data sets for every subdivision in transverse and cumulative-transverse momentum variables. The results obtained do not indicate the searched intermittent pattern. An upper limit on the fraction of correlated protons and the intermittency index is obtained based on a comparison with the Power-law Model.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2023

Measurement of the Multi-Neutron $\barν_μ$ 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.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2023

Measurements of $π^+$, $π^-$, $p$, $\bar{p}$, $K^+$ and $K^-$ production in 120 GeV/$c$ p + C interactions

This paper presents multiplicity measurements of charged hadrons produced in 120 GeV/$c$ proton-carbon interactions. The measurements were made using data collected at the NA61/SHINE experiment during two different data-taking periods, with increased phase space coverage in the second configuration due to the addition of new subdetectors. Particle identification via $dE/dx$ was employed to obtain double-differential production multiplicities of $π^+$, $π^-$, $p$, $\bar{p}$, $K^+$ and $K^-$. These measurements are presented as a function of laboratory momentum in intervals of laboratory polar angle covering the range from 0 to 450 mrad. They provide crucial inputs for current and future long-baseline neutrino experiments, where they are used to estimate the initial neutrino flux.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2023

Data Preservation in High Energy Physics

Data preservation is a mandatory specification for any present and future experimental facility and it is a cost-effective way of doing fundamental research by exploiting unique data sets in the light of the continuously increasing theoretical understanding. This document summarizes the status of data preservation in high energy physics. The paradigms and the methodological advances are discussed from a perspective of more than ten years of experience with a structured effort at international level. The status and the scientific return related to the preservation of data accumulated at large collider experiments are presented, together with an account of ongoing efforts to ensure long-term analysis capabilities for ongoing and future experiments. Transverse projects aimed at generic solutions, most of which are specifically inspired by open science and FAIR principles, are presented as well. A prospective and an action plan are also indicated.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2023

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

Neutrino-induced charged-current single $π^+$ production in the $Δ(1232)$ 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 $ν_μA \to μ^- π^+ +$ nucleon(s) on scintillator, carbon, water, iron, and lead targets recorded by MINERvA using a wide-band $ν_μ$ beam with $\left< E_ν\right> \approx 6$~GeV. Suppression of the cross section at low $Q^2$ and enhancement of low $T_π$ 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.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2023

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

MINERvA has measured the $ν_μ$-induced coherent $π^{+}$ 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 $ν_μ$ energies and at produced $π^{+}$ energies and angles, $E_π>1$ GeV and $θ_π<10^{\circ}$. 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 $E_ν>10$ GeV.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2023

High-Statistics Measurement of Antineutrino Quasielastic-like scattering at $E_ν\sim$ 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 $Q^{2}_{QE}$.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2023

Search for the critical point of strongly-interacting matter in ${}^{40}$Ar + ${}^{45}$Sc collisions at 150A GeV/c using scaled factorial moments of protons

The critical point of dense, strongly interacting matter is searched for at the CERN SPS in ${}^{40}$Ar + ${}^{45}$Sc collisions at 150A GeV/c. The dependence of second-order scaled factorial moments of proton multiplicity distribution on the number of subdivisions of transverse momentum space is measured. The intermittency analysis is performed using both transverse momentum and cumulative transverse momentum. For the first time, statistically independent data sets are used for each subdivision number. The obtained results do not indicate any statistically significant intermittency pattern. An upper limit on the fraction of critical proton pairs and the power of the correlation function is obtained based on a comparison with the Power-law Model developed for this purpose.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2023

Measurements of $K^0_{\textrm{S}}$, $Λ$ and $\barΛ$ production in 120 GeV/$c$ p + C interactions

This paper presents multiplicity measurements of $K^0_{\textrm{S}}$, $Λ$, and $\barΛ$ produced in 120 GeV/$c$ proton-carbon interactions. The measurements were made using data collected at the NA61/SHINE experiment during two different periods. Decays of these neutral hadrons impact the measured $π^+$, $π^-$, $p$ and $\bar{p}$ multiplicities in the 120 GeV/$c$ proton-carbon reaction, which are crucial inputs for long-baseline neutrino experiment predictions of neutrino beam flux. The double-differential multiplicities presented here will be used to more precisely measure charged-hadron multiplicities in this reaction, and to re-weight neutral hadron production in neutrino beam Monte Carlo simulations.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2023

Measurements of $π^\pm$, $K^\pm$, $p$ and $\bar{p}$ spectra in $^7$Be+$^9$Be collisions at beam momenta from 19$A$ to 150$A$ GeV/$c$ with the NA61/SHINE spectrometer at the CERN SPS

The NA61/SHINE experiment at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) studies the onset of deconfinement in hadron matter by a scan of particle production in collisions of nuclei with various sizes at a set of energies covering the SPS energy range. This paper presents results on inclusive double-differential spectra, transverse momentum and rapidity distributions and mean multiplicities of $π^\pm$, $K^\pm$, $p$ and $\bar{p}$ produced in the 20$\%$ most $central$ $^7$Be+$^9$Be collisions at beam momenta of 19$A$, 30$A$, 40$A$, 75$A$ and 150$A$ GeV/$c$. The energy dependence of the $K^\pm$/$π^\pm$ ratios as well as of inverse slope parameters of the $K^\pm$ transverse mass distributions are close to those found in inelastic $p$+$p$ reactions. The new results are compared to the world data on $p$+$p$ and Pb+Pb collisions as well as to predictions of the EPOS, UrQMD, AMPT, PHSD and SMASH models.

hep-ex↗

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.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2022

Measurement of inclusive charged-current $ν_μ$ cross sections as a function of muon kinematics at $ \sim6~GeV$ on hydrocarbon

MINERvA presents a new analysis of inclusive charged-current neutrino interactions on a hydrocarbon target. We report single and double-differential cross sections in muon transverse and longitudinal momentum. These measurements are compared to neutrino interaction generator predictions from GENIE, NuWro, GiBUU, and NEUT. In addition, comparisons against models with different treatments of multi-nucleon correlations, nuclear effects, resonant pion production, and deep inelastic scattering are presented. The data recorded corresponds to $10.61\times10^{20}$ protons on target with a peak neutrino energy of approximately 6 GeV. The higher energy and larger statistics of these data extend the kinematic range for model testing beyond previous MINERvA inclusive charged-current measurements. The results are not well modeled by several generator predictions using a variety of input models.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2022

Data Preservation at MINERvA

Between 2013 and 2019 MINERvA collected an accelerator neutrino interaction dataset that is uniquely relevant to the energy range of DUNE. These are the only currently available data at intermediate and high momentum transfers for multiple nuclear targets in the same beam. MINERvA is undertaking a campaign to preserve these data and make them publicly available so that they may be analyzed beyond the end of the MINERvA collaboration. We encourage the community to consider the development of centralized resources to enable long-term access to these data and analysis tools for the entire HEP community.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2022

Measurement of Hadron Production in $π^-$-C Interactions at 158 and 350 GeV/c with NA61/SHINE at the CERN SPS

We present a measurement of the momentum spectra of $π^\pm$, K$^\pm$, p$^\pm$, $Λ$, $\barΛ$ and K$^{0}_{S}$ produced in interactions of negatively charged pions with carbon nuclei at beam momenta of 158 and 350 GeV/c. The total production cross sections are measured as well. The data were collected with the large-acceptance spectrometer of the fixed target experiment NA61/SHINE at the CERN SPS. The obtained double-differential $p$-$p_T$ spectra provide a unique reference data set with unprecedented precision and large phase-space coverage to tune models used for the simulation of particle production in extensive air showers in which pions are the most numerous projectiles.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2022

Report of the Topical Group on Artificial Neutrino Sources for Snowmass 2021

The NF09 topical group was charged with soliciting input to Snowmass on the topic of artificial neutrino sources. In this report, we attempt to catalogue all new or upgraded artificial neutrino sources that are being considered by the global neutrino physics community over the next decade. This report also highlights projects that can improve our knowledge of the fluxes from these sources, which is important to maximize their use.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2022

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

Processes with precisely known cross sections, like neutrino electron elastic scattering ($νe^{-} \!\rightarrow νe^{-}$) and inverse muon decay ($ν_μe^{-} \!\rightarrow μ^{-} ν_e$) 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\%.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2022

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

The \minerva experiment reports double-differential cross-section measurements for $ν_μ$-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.

hep-ex↗