Zelimir Djurcic Physics Department

• Zelimir Djurcic

• Physics Department

• Columbia University

Before MiniBooNE: The LSND Experiment

Oscillation e

• Oscillation e

• Example oscillation

• signal

• m2 = 1 eV2
• sin22 = 0.004

• Fit for excess as

• function of

• reconstructed e

• energy

MisID 

• MisID 

• of these……

• ~83% 0

• Only ~1% of 0s are misIDed
• Determined by clean 0 measurement

• ~7%   decay

• Use clean 0 measurement to estimate  production

• ~10% other

• Use  CCQE rate to normalize and MC for shape

e from +

• e from +

• Measured with  CCQE sample

• Same parent + kinematics

• Most important background

• Very highly constrained (a few percent)

e from K+

• e from K+

• Use High energy e and  to normalize

• Use kaon production data for shape

• Need to subtract off misIDs

High energy e

• High energy e

• data

• Events below ~2.0 GeV still in closed box (blind analysis)

…exploits NuMI beam in a new way

• Off-axis neutrino beams provide narrow-band kinematics

• Reduces backgrounds
• mis-id NC
• e’s from K decay (wrong kinematics)

• Increases flux at oscillation maximum.

• This provides a good setting for e appearance experiments

NOvA coverage range for mass ordering

• …is a compact, fully active neutrino detector designed to study neutrino-nucleus interactions with unprecedented detail

• The detector will be placed in the NuMI beam line upstream of the MINOS Near Detector

• MINERvA is unique in worldwide program

• The NuMI intensity provides
• Opportunity for precision neutrino interaction measurements
• Wide range of neutrino energies
• Detector with several different nuclear targets allows 1st study of neutrino nuclear effects
• Crucial input to current and future oscillation measurements

MINERvA proposes to build a low-risk detector with simple, well-understood technology

• MINERvA proposes to build a low-risk detector with simple, well-understood technology

• Active core is segmented solid scintillator

• Tracking (including low momentum recoil protons)
• Particle identification
• 3 ns (RMS) per hit timing
• (track direction, identify
• stopped K±)

• Core surrounded by electro-

• magnetic and hadronic

• calorimeters

• Photon (0) & hadron energy
• measurement

• MINOS Near Detector as

• muon catcher

Reminder: proton tracks from QE events are typically short. Want sensitivity to pp~ 300 - 500 MeV

• Reminder: proton tracks from QE events are typically short. Want sensitivity to pp~ 300 - 500 MeV

• “Thickness” of track proportional to dE/dx in figure above

• proton and muon tracks are clearly resolved

• precise determination of vertex and measurement

• of Q2 from tracking