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S. Dolan

Publications and source records attributed to S. Dolan.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Angular dependent measurement of electron-ion recombination in liquid argon for ionization calorimetry in the ICARUS liquid argon time projection chamber

This paper reports on a measurement of electron-ion recombination in liquid argon in the ICARUS liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC). A clear dependence of recombination on the angle of the ionizing particle track relative to the drift electric field is observed. An ellipsoid modified box (EMB) model of recombination describes the data across all measured angles. These measurements are used for the calorimetric energy scale calibration of the ICARUS TPC, which is also presented. The impact of the EMB model is studied on calorimetric particle identification, as well as muon and proton energy measurements. Accounting for the angular dependence in EMB recombination improves the accuracy and precision of these measurements.

physics.ins-det↗

Calibration and simulation of ionization signal and electronics noise in the ICARUS liquid argon time projection chamber

The ICARUS liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) neutrino detector has been taking physics data since 2022 as part of the Short-Baseline Neutrino (SBN) Program. This paper details the equalization of the response to charge in the ICARUS time projection chamber (TPC), as well as data-driven tuning of the simulation of ionization charge signals and electronics noise. The equalization procedure removes non-uniformities in the ICARUS TPC response to charge in space and time. This work leverages the copious number of cosmic ray muons available to ICARUS at the surface. The ionization signal shape simulation applies a novel procedure that tunes the simulation to match what is measured in data. The end result of the equalization procedure and simulation tuning allows for a comparison of charge measurements in ICARUS between Monte Carlo simulation and data, showing good performance with minimal residual bias between the two.

hep-ex↗

New model comparison for semi-inclusive charged-current electron and muon neutrino scattering by $^{40}$Ar in the energy range of the MicroBooNE experiment

In this work we present a comparison of semi-inclusive muon and electron neutrino cross sections with $^{40}$Ar target measured by the MicroBooNE Collaboration with the predictions of an unfactorized model based on the relativistic distorted wave impulse approximation (RDWIA) and the SuSAv2-MEC model implemented in the neutrino event generator GENIE. The predictions based on the RDWIA approach, with a realistic description of the initial state and a phenomenological relativistic complex optical potential for the description of final state interactions, better describe the measured cross sections than GENIE-SuSAv2 and RDWIA with a purely real potential.

hep-ex↗

First measurement of muon neutrino charged-current interactions on hydrocarbon without pions in the final state using multiple detectors with correlated energy spectra at T2K

This paper reports the first measurement of muon neutrino charged-current interactions without pions in the final state using multiple detectors with correlated energy spectra at T2K. The data was collected on hydrocarbon targets using the off-axis T2K near detector (ND280) and the on-axis T2K near detector (INGRID) with neutrino energy spectra peaked at 0.6 GeV and 1.1 GeV respectively. The correlated neutrino flux presents an opportunity to reduce the impact of the flux uncertainty and to study the energy dependence of neutrino interactions. The extracted double-differential cross sections are compared to several Monte Carlo neutrino-nucleus interaction event generators showing the agreement between both detectors individually and with the correlated result.

hep-ex↗

Updated T2K measurements of muon neutrino and antineutrino disappearance using 3.6 $\times$ 10$^{21}$ protons on target

Muon neutrino and antineutrino disappearance probabilities are identical in the standard three-flavor neutrino oscillation framework, but CPT violation and non-standard interactions can violate this symmetry. In this work we report the measurements of $\sin^{2} θ_{23}$ and $Δm_{32}^2$ independently for neutrinos and antineutrinos. The aforementioned symmetry violation would manifest as an inconsistency in the neutrino and antineutrino oscillation parameters. The analysis discussed here uses a total of 1.97$\times$10$^{21}$ and 1.63$\times$10$^{21}$ protons on target taken with a neutrino and antineutrino beam respectively, and benefits from improved flux and cross-section models, new near detector samples and more than double the data reducing the overall uncertainty of the result. No significant deviation is observed, consistent with the standard neutrino oscillation picture.

hep-ex↗

Measurements of the $ν_μ$ and $\barν_μ$-induced Coherent Charged Pion Production Cross Sections on $^{12}C$ by the T2K experiment

We report an updated measurement of the $ν_μ$-induced, and the first measurement of the $\barν_μ$-induced coherent charged pion production cross section on $^{12}C$ nuclei in the T2K experiment. This is measured in a restricted region of the final-state phase space for which $p_{μ,π} > 0.2$ GeV, $\cos(θ_μ) > 0.8$ and $\cos(θ_π) > 0.6$, and at a mean (anti)neutrino energy of 0.85 GeV using the T2K near detector. The measured $ν_μ$ CC coherent pion production flux-averaged cross section on $^{12}C$ is $(2.98 \pm 0.37 (stat.) \pm 0.31 (syst.) \substack{ +0.49 \\ -0.00 } \mathrm{ (Q^2\,model)}) \times 10^{-40}~\mathrm{cm}^{2}$. The new measurement of the $\barν_μ$-induced cross section on $^{12}{C}$ is $(3.05 \pm 0.71 (stat.) \pm 0.39 (syst.) \substack{ +0.74 \\ -0.00 } \mathrm{(Q^2\,model)}) \times 10^{-40}~\mathrm{cm}^{2}$. The results are compatible with both the NEUT 5.4.0 Berger-Sehgal (2009) and GENIE 2.8.0 Rein-Sehgal (2007) model predictions.

hep-ex↗

Measurements of neutrino oscillation parameters from the T2K experiment using $3.6\times10^{21}$ protons on target

The T2K experiment presents new measurements of neutrino oscillation parameters using $19.7(16.3)\times10^{20}$ protons on target (POT) in (anti-)neutrino mode at the far detector (FD). Compared to the previous analysis, an additional $4.7\times10^{20}$ POT neutrino data was collected at the FD. Significant improvements were made to the analysis methodology, with the near-detector analysis introducing new selections and using more than double the data. Additionally, this is the first T2K oscillation analysis to use NA61/SHINE data on a replica of the T2K target to tune the neutrino flux model, and the neutrino interaction model was improved to include new nuclear effects and calculations. Frequentist and Bayesian analyses are presented, including results on $\sin^2θ_{13}$ and the impact of priors on the $δ_\mathrm{CP}$ measurement. Both analyses prefer the normal mass ordering and upper octant of $\sin^2θ_{23}$ with a nearly maximally CP-violating phase. Assuming the normal ordering and using the constraint on $\sin^2θ_{13}$ from reactors, $\sin^2θ_{23}=0.561^{+0.021}_{-0.032}$ using Feldman--Cousins corrected intervals, and $Δm^2_{32}=2.494_{-0.058}^{+0.041}\times10^{-3}~\mathrm{eV^2}$ using constant $Δχ^{2}$ intervals. The CP-violating phase is constrained to $δ_\mathrm{CP}=-1.97_{-0.70}^{+0.97}$ using Feldman--Cousins corrected intervals, and $δ_\mathrm{CP}=0,π$ is excluded at more than 90% confidence level. A Jarlskog invariant of zero is excluded at more than $2σ$ credible level using a flat prior in $δ_\mathrm{CP}$, and just below $2σ$ using a flat prior in $\sinδ_\mathrm{CP}$. When the external constraint on $\sin^2θ_{13}$ is removed, $\sin^2θ_{13}=28.0^{+2.8}_{-6.5}\times10^{-3}$, in agreement with measurements from reactor experiments. These results are consistent with previous T2K analyses.

hep-ex↗

Parametrized uncertainties in the spectral function model of neutrino charged-current quasielastic interactions for oscillation analyses

A substantial fraction of systematic uncertainties in neutrino oscillation experiments stem from the lack of precision in modeling the nuclear target in neutrino-nucleus interactions. Whilst this has driven significant progress in the development of improved nuclear models for neutrino scattering, it is crucial that the models used in neutrino data analyses be accompanied by parameters and associated uncertainties that allow the coverage of plausible nuclear physics. Based on constraints from electron scattering data, we develop such a set of parameters, which can be applied to nuclear shell models, and test their application to the Benhar et al spectral function model. The parametrization is validated through a series of maximum likelihood fits to cross-section measurements made by the T2K and MINERvA experiments, which also permit an exploration of the power of near-detector data to provide constraints on the parameters in neutrino oscillation analyses.

hep-ex↗

Analysis of test beam data taken with a prototype of TPC with resistive Micromegas for the T2K Near Detector upgrade

In this paper we describe the performance of a prototype of the High Angle Time Projection Chambers (HA-TPCs) that are being produced for the Near Detector (ND280) upgrade of the T2K experiment. The two HA-TPCs of ND280 will be instrumented with eight Encapsulated Resistive Anode Micromegas (ERAM) on each endplate, thus constituting in total 32 ERAMs. This innovative technique allows the detection of the charge emitted by ionization electrons over several pads, improving the determination of the track position. The TPC prototype has been equipped with the first ERAM module produced for T2K and with the HA-TPC readout electronics chain and it has been exposed to the DESY Test Beam in order to measure spatial and dE/dx resolution. In this paper we characterize the performances of the ERAM and, for the first time, we compare them with a newly developed simulation of the detector response. Spatial resolution better than 800 ${μ\rm m}$ and dE/dx resolution better than 10% are observed for all the incident angles and for all the drift distances of interest. All the main features of the data are correctly reproduced by the simulation and these performances fully fulfill the requirements for the HA-TPCs of T2K.

physics.ins-det↗

Uncertainties on the $ν_μ$/$ν_{e}$, $\barν_μ$/$\barν_{e}$ and $ν_{e}$/$\barν_{e}$ cross-section ratio from the modelling of nuclear effects and their impact on neutrino oscillation experiments

The potential for mis-modeling of $ν_μ$/$ν_{e}$, $\barν_μ$/$\barν_{e}$ and $ν_{e}$/$\barν_{e}$ cross section ratios due to nuclear effects is quantified by considering model spread within the full kinematic phase space for CCQE interactions. Its impact is then propagated to simulated experimental configurations based on the Hyper-K and ESS$ν$SB experiments. Although significant discrepancies between theoretical models is confirmed, it is found that these largely lie in regions of phase space that contribute only a very small portion of the flux integrated cross sections. Overall, a systematic uncertainty on the oscillated flux-averaged $ν_{e}$/$\barν_{e}$ cross-section ratio is found to be $\sim$2\% and $\sim$4\% for Hyper-K and ESS$ν$SB respectively.

hep-ph↗

Characterization of Charge Spreading and Gain of Encapsulated Resistive Micromegas Detectors for the Upgrade of the T2K Near Detector Time Projection Chambers

An upgrade of the near detector of the T2K long baseline neutrino oscillation experiment is currently being conducted. This upgrade will include two new Time Projection Chambers, each equipped with 16 charge readout resistive Micromegas modules. A procedure to validate the performance of the detectors at different stages of production has been developed and implemented to ensure a proper and reliable operation of the detectors once installed. A dedicated X-ray test bench is used to characterize the detectors by scanning each pad individually and to precisely measure the uniformity of the gain and the deposited energy resolution over the pad plane. An energy resolution of about 10% is obtained. A detailed physical model has been developed to describe the charge dispersion phenomena in the resistive Micromegas anode. The detailed physical description includes initial ionization, electron drift, diffusion effects and the readout electronics effects. The model provides an excellent characterization of the charge spreading of the experimental measurements and allowed the simultaneous extraction of gain and RC information of the modules.

physics.ins-det↗

Uncertainties in modelling neutrino interactions for oscillation experiments

Accelerator-based neutrino oscillation experiments have the potential to revolutionise our understanding of fundamental physics, offering an opportunity to characterise charge-parity violation in the lepton section, to determine the neutrino mass ordering and to explore the possibility of physics beyond three-flavour neutrino mixing. However, as more data is collected the current and next-generation of experiments will require increasingly precise control over the systematic uncertainties within their analyses. It is well known that some of the most challenging uncertainties to overcome stem from our uncertain modelling of neutrino-nucleus interactions, arising because measured event rates depend on the neutrino interaction cross section in addition to any oscillation probability. The sources of these uncertainties are often related to subtle details of the pertinent nuclear physics, such as those of the target nucleus ground state, which are extremely difficult to control with sufficient precision. Confronting such uncertainties requires both state-of-art theoretical modelling and precise measurements of neutrino interaction event rates at experiment's near detectors, before oscillations are likely occur. These proceedings will briefly review the role of neutrino interaction systematic uncertainties in current and future measurements of neutrino oscillations.

hep-ex↗

Electron-nucleus scattering in the NEUT event generator

The NEUT event generator is a widely-used tool to simulate neutrino interactions for energies between 10s of MeV and a few TeV. NEUT plays a crucial role in neutrino oscillation analyses for the T2K and Hyper-K experiments, providing the primary simulation of the neutrino interactions whose final-state products are measured to infer the oscillation parameters. NEUT is also capable of simulating nucleon decay and hadron scattering. These proceedings present an expansion of NEUT to simulate electron scattering before showing comparisons to experimental measurements and using discrepancies to derive an empirical correction to NEUT's treatment of nuclear removal energy.

hep-ex↗

Additive manufacturing of inorganic scintillator-based particle detectors

Inorganic scintillators are widely used for scientific, industrial and medical applications. The development of 3D printing with inorganic scintillators would allow fast creation of detector prototypes for registration of ionizing radiation, such as alpha and beta, gamma particles in thin layers of active material and soft X-ray radiation. This article reports on the technical work and scientific achievements that aimed at developing a new inorganic scintillation filament to be used for the 3D printing of composite scintillator materials: study and definition of the scintillator composition; development of the methods for the inorganic scintillator filament production and further implementation in the available 3D printing technologies; study of impact of the different 3D printing modes on the material scintillation characteristics. Also, 3D printed scintillators can be used for creation of combined detectors for high-energy physics.

physics.ins-det↗

Neutron detection and application with a novel 3D-projection scintillator tracker in the future long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments

Neutrino oscillation experiments require a precise measurement of the neutrino energy. However, the kinematic detection of the final-state neutron in the neutrino interaction is missing in current neutrino oscillation experiments. The missing neutron kinematic detection results in a feed-down of the detected neutrino energy compared to the true neutrino energy. A novel 3D\textcolor{black}{-}projection scintillator tracker, which consists of roughly ten million active cubes covered with an optical reflector, is capable of measuring the neutron kinetic energy and direction on an event-by-event basis using the time-of-flight technique thanks to the fast timing, fine granularity, and high light yield. The $\barν_μ$ interactions tend to produce neutrons in the final state. By inferring the neutron kinetic energy, the $\barν_μ$ energy can be reconstructed better, allowing a tighter incoming neutrino flux constraint. This paper shows the detector's ability to reconstruct neutron kinetic energy and the $\barν_μ$ flux constraint achieved by selecting the charged-current interactions without mesons or protons in the final state.

hep-ex↗

Final state interactions in semi-inclusive neutrino-nucleus scattering: Application to T2K and MINER$ν$A experiments

We present a complete comparison of semi-inclusive $ν_μ$-$^{12}$C cross-section measurements by T2K and MINER$ν$A collaborations with the predictions from the SuSAv2-MEC model implemented in the neutrino-nucleus event generator GENIE and an unfactorized approach based on the relativistic distorted wave impulse approximation (RDWIA). Results, that include cross sections as function of the final muon and proton kinematics and correlations between both, show that the agreement with data obtained by the RDWIA approach, that accounts for final-state interactions, matches or improves GENIE-SuSAv2 predictions for very forward angles where scaling violations are relevant.

nucl-th↗

Implementation of the CRPA model in the GENIE event generator and analysis of nuclear effects in low-energy transfer neutrino-nucleus interactions

We present the implementation and validation of the Hartree-Fock continuum random phase approximation (HF-CRPA) model in the GENIE neutrino-nucleus interaction event generator and a comparison of the subsequent predictions to experimental measurements of lepton kinematics from interactions with no mesons in the final state. These predictions are also compared to those of other models available in GENIE. It is shown that, with respect to these models, HF-CRPA predicts a significantly different evolution of the cross section when moving between different interaction targets, when considering incoming anti-neutrinos compared to neutrinos and when changing neutrino energies. These differences are most apparent for interactions with low energy and momentum transfer. It is also clear that the impact of nucleon correlations within the HF-CRPA framework is very different than in GENIE's standard implementation of RPA corrections. Since many neutrino oscillation experiments rely on their input model to extrapolate between targets, flavours, and neutrino energies, the newly implemented HF-CRPA model provides a useful means to verify that such differences between models are appropriately covered in oscillation analysis systematic error budgets.

hep-ex↗

Additive manufacturing of fine-granularity optically-isolated plastic scintillator elements

Plastic scintillator detectors are used in high energy physics as well as for diagnostic imaging in medicine, beam monitoring on hadron therapy, muon tomography, dosimetry and many security applications. To combine particle tracking and calorimetry it is necessary to build detectors with three-dimensional granularity, i.e. small voxels of scintillator optically isolated from each other. Recently, the 3DET collaboration demonstrated the possibility to 3D print polystyrene-based scintillators with a light output performance close to that obtained with standard production methods. In this article, after providing a further characterization of the developed scintillators, we show the first matrix of plastic scintillator cubes optically separated by a white reflector material entirely 3D printed with fused deposition modeling. This is a major milestone towards the 3D printing of the first real particle detector. A discussion of the results as well as the next steps in the R&D is also provided.

physics.ins-det↗