Constraining the NuMI neutrino flux using inverse muon decay reactions in MINERvA

Abstract

Inverse muon decay, ${\nu }_{\mu }{e}^{-}\to {\mu }^{-}{\nu }_e$, is a reaction whose cross-section can be predicted with very small uncertainties. It has a neutrino energy threshold of $\approx 11$ GeV and can be used to constrain the high-energy part of the flux in the NuMI neutrino beam. This reaction is the dominant source of events which only contain high-energy muons nearly parallel to the direction of the neutrino beam. We have isolated a sample of hundreds of such events in neutrino and anti-neutrino enhanced beams, and have constrained the predicted high-energy flux.

arXiv comment9 pages, 8 figures, submitted to Physical Review D. Minor corrections and clarifications

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Cited by in corpus (5)

• Improved constraint on the MINERvA medium energy neutrino flux using $\bar{\nu }{e}^{-}\to \bar{\nu }{e}^{-}$ data
• Charged-current quasielastic neutrino scattering from ${}^{12}$C in an extended superscaling model with two-nucleon emission
• Simultaneous measurement of muon neutrino ${\nu }_{\mu }$ charged-current single ${\pi }^{+}$ production in CH, C, H${}_2$O, Fe, and Pb targets in MINERvA
• A substandard candle: the low-$\nu$ method at few-GeV neutrino energies
• Radiative corrections to inverse muon decay for accelerator neutrinos