First Measurement of Electron Neutrino Scattering Cross Section on Argon

Abstract

We report the first electron neutrino cross section measurements on argon, based on data collected by the ArgoNeuT experiment running in the GeV-scale NuMI beamline at Fermilab. A flux-averaged ${\nu }_e+{\overline{\nu }}_e$ total and a lepton angle differential cross section are extracted using 13 ${\nu }_e$ and ${\overline{\nu }}_e$ events identified with fully-automated selection and reconstruction. We employ electromagnetic-induced shower characterization and analysis tools developed to identify ${\nu }_e/{\overline{\nu }}_e$-like events among complex interaction topologies present in ArgoNeuT data ($⟨E_{{\bar{\nu }}_e}⟩=4.3$ GeV and $⟨E_{{\nu }_e}⟩=10.5$ GeV). The techniques are widely applicable to searches for electron-flavor appearance at short- and long-baseline using liquid argon time projection chamber technology. Notably, the data-driven studies of GeV-scale ${\nu }_e/{\overline{\nu }}_e$ interactions presented in this Letter probe an energy regime relevant for future DUNE oscillation physics.

added acknowledgements

Cited by in corpus (7)

• New CC0π GENIE Model Tune for MicroBooNE
• Tau neutrinos at DUNE: new strategies, new opportunities
• First Measurement of Inclusive Electron-Neutrino and Antineutrino Charged Current Differential Cross Sections in Charged Lepton Energy on Argon in MicroBooNE
• Measurement of Electron Neutrino and Antineutrino Cross Sections at Low Momentum Transfer
• First measurement of ${\nu }_e$ + ${\bar{\nu }}_e$ charged current single charged pion production differential cross sections on argon using the MicroBooNE detector
• Operation of a Modular 3D-Pixelated Liquid Argon Time-Projection Chamber in a Neutrino Beam
• A New Generation of Neutrino Cross Section Experiments: Challenges and Opportunities