The SciBooNE and MiniBooNE collaborations report the results of a νμ disappearance search in the Δ'm2 region of 0.5-40 eV2. The neutrino rate as measured by the SciBooNE tracking detectors is used to constrain the rate at the MiniBooNE Cherenkov detector in the first joint analysis of data from both collaborations. Two separate analyses of the combined data samples set 90% confidence level (CL) limits on νμ disappearance in the 0.5-40 eV2 Δm2 region, with an improvement over previous experimental constraints between 10 and 30 eV2
The SciBooNE and MiniBooNE collaborations report the results of a ν_μdisappearance search in the Δm^2 region of 0.5-40 eV^2. The neutrino rate as measured by the SciBooNE tracking detectors is used to constrain the rate at the MiniBooNE Cherenkov detector in the first joint analysis of data from both collaborations. Two separate analyses of the combined data samples set 90% confidence level (CL) limits on ν_μdisappearance in the 0.5-40 eV^2 Δm^2 region, with an improvement over previous experimental constraints between 10 and 30 eV^2.
Using a custom 3-Cerenkov ring fitter, we report cross sections for nu(mu)-induced charged-current single pi(0) production on mineral oil (CH2) from a sample of 5810 candidate events with 57% signal purity over an energy range of 0.5-2.0 GeV. This includes measurements of the absolute total cross section as a function of neutrino energy, and flux-averaged differential cross sections measured in terms of Q(2), mu(-) kinematics, and pi(0) kinematics. The sample yields a flux-averaged total cross section of (9.2 +/- 0.3(stat) +/- 1.5(syst)) X 10(-39) cm(2)/CH2 at mean neutrino energy of 0.965 GeV.
Using a high-statistics, high-purity sample of ν_μ-induced charged current, charged pion events in mineral oil (CH_2), MiniBooNE reports a collection of interaction cross sections for this process. This includes measurements of the CCπ^+ cross section as a function of neutrino energy, as well as flux-averaged single- and double-differential cross sections of the energy and direction of both the final-state muon and pion. In addition, each of the single-differential cross sections are extracted as a function of neutrino energy to decouple the shape of the MiniBooNE energy spectrum from the results. In many cases, these cross sections are the first time such quantities have been measured on a nuclear target and in the 1 GeV energy range.
A. A. Aguilar-Arevalo, C. E. Anderson, A. O. Bazarko, S. J. Brice, B. C. Brown, L. Bugel, J. Cao, L. Coney, J. M. Conrad, D. C. Cox, A. Curioni, Z. Djurcic, D. A. Finley, B. T. Fleming, R. Ford, F. G. Garcia, G. T. Garvey, J. Grange, C. Green, 10 J. A. Green, 10 T. L. Hart, E. Hawker, 10 R. Imlay, R. A. Johnson, G. Karagiorgi, P. Kasper, T. Katori, 12 T. Kobilarcik, I. Kourbanis, S. Koutsoliotas, E. M. Laird, S. K. Linden, J. M. Link, Y. Liu, Y. Liu, W. C. Louis, K. B. M. Mahn, W. Marsh, C. Mauger, V. T. McGary, G. McGregor, W. Metcalf, P. D. Meyers, F. Mills, G. B. Mills, J. Monroe, C. D. Moore, J. Mousseau, R. H. Nelson, ∗ P. Nienaber, J. A. Nowak, B. Osmanov, S. Ouedraogo, R. B. Patterson, ∗ Z. Pavlovic, D. Perevalov, C. C. Polly, E. Prebys, J. L. Raaf, H. Ray, 10 B. P. Roe, A. D. Russell, V. Sandberg, R. Schirato, D. Schmitz, M. H. Shaevitz, F. C. Shoemaker, † D. Smith, M. Soderberg, M. Sorel, ‡ P. Spentzouris, J. Spitz, I. Stancu, R. J. Stefanski, M. Sung, H. A. Tanaka, R. Tayloe, M. Tzanov, R. G. Van de Water, M. O. Wascko, § D. H. White, M. J. Wilking, H. J. Yang, G. P. Zeller, and E. D. Zimmerman
We present a search for core-collapse supernovae in the Milky Way galaxy, using the MiniBooNE neutrino detector.No evidence is found for core-collapse supernovae occurring in our Galaxy in the period from December 14, 2004 to July 31, 2008, corresponding to 98% live time for collection.We set a limit on the core-collapse supernova rate out to a distance of 13.4 kpc to be less than 0.69 supernovae per year at 90% C.L.
MiniBooNE reports the first absolute cross sections for neutral current single pi(0) production on CH2 induced by neutrino and antineutrino interactions measured from the largest sets of NC pi(0) events collected to date. The principal result consists of differential cross sections measured as functions of pi(0) momentum and pi(0) angle averaged over the neutrino flux at MiniBooNE. We find total cross sections of (4.76 +/- 0.05(stat) +/- 0.76(sys)) X 10(-40) cm(2)/nucleon at a mean energy of < E-v > = 808 MeV and (1.48 +/- 0.05(stat) +/- 0.23(sys)) X 10(-40) cm(2)/nucleon at a mean energy of < E-v > = 664 MeV for v(mu) and (v) over bar (mu) induced production, respectively. In addition, we have included measurements of the neutrino and antineutrino total cross sections for incoherent exclusive NC 1 pi(0) production corrected for the effects of final state interactions to compare to prior results.
We report a measurement of the flux-averaged neutral-current elastic differential cross section for neutrinos scattering on mineral oil (CH{sub 2}) as a function of four-momentum transferred squared, Q{sup 2}. It is obtained by measuring the kinematics of recoiling nucleons with kinetic energy greater than 50 MeV which are readily detected in MiniBooNE. This differential cross-section distribution is fit with fixed nucleon form factors apart from an axial mass M{sub A} that provides a best fit for M{sub A}=1.39{+-}0.11 GeV. Using the data from the charged-current neutrino interaction sample, a ratio of neutral-current to charged-current quasielastic cross sections as a function of Q{sup 2} has been measured. Additionally, single protons with kinetic energies above 350 MeV can be distinguished from neutrons and multiple nucleon events. Using this marker, the strange quark contribution to the neutral-current axial vector form factor at Q{sup 2}=0, {Delta}s, is found to be {Delta}s=0.08{+-}0.26.
Charged current single pion production (CC{pi}{sup +}) and charged current quasi-elastic scattering (CCQE) are the most abundant interaction types for neutrinos at energies around 1 GeV, a region of great interest to oscillation experiments. The cross-sections for these processes, however, are not well understood in this energy range. This dissertation presents a measurement of the ratio of CC{pi}{sup +} to CCQE cross-sections for muon neutrinos on mineral oil (CH{sub 2}) in the MiniBooNE experiment. The measurement is presented here both with and without corrections for hadronic re-interactions in the target nucleus and is given as a function of neutrino energy in the range 0.4 GeV < E{sub {nu}} < 2.4 GeV. With more than 46,000 CC{pi}{sup +} events collected in MiniBooNE, and with a fractional uncertainty of roughly 11% in the region of highest statistics, this measurement represents a dramatic improvement in statistics and precision over previous CC{pi}{sup +} and CCQE measurements.
The MiniBooNE neutrino detector was designed and built to look for muon-neutrino to electron-neutrino oscillations in the mixing parameter space region where the LSND experiment reported a signal. The MiniBooNE experiment used a beam energy and baseline that were an order of magnitude larger than those of LSND so that the backgrounds and systematic errors would be completely different. This paper provides a detailed description of the design, function, and performance of the MiniBooNE detector.
The Booster Neutrino Experiment (MiniBooNE) searches for numu-to-nue oscillations using the O(1 GeV) neutrino beam produced by the Booster synchrotron at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL). The Booster delivers protons with 8 GeV kinetic energy (8.89 GeV/c momentum) to a beryllium target, producing neutrinos from the decay of secondary particles in the beam line. We describe the Monte Carlo simulation methods used to estimate the flux of neutrinos from the beamline incident on the MiniBooNE detector for both polarities of the focussing horn. The simulation uses the Geant4 framework for propagating particles, accounting for electromagnetic processes and hadronic interactions in the beamline materials, as well as the decay of particles. The absolute double differential cross sections of pion and kaon production in the simulation have been tuned to match external measurements, as have the hadronic cross sections for nucleons and pions. The statistical precision of the flux predictions is enhanced through reweighting and resampling techniques. Systematic errors in the flux estimation have been determined by varying parameters within their uncertainties, accounting for correlations where appropriate.
The MiniBooNE Collaboration observes unexplained electronlike events in the reconstructed neutrino energy range from 200 to 475 MeV. With 6.46x10;{20} protons on target, 544 electronlike events are observed in this energy range, compared to an expectation of 415.2+/-43.4 events, corresponding to an excess of 128.8+/-20.4+/-38.3 events. The shape of the excess in several kinematic variables is consistent with being due to either nu_{e} and nu[over ]_{e} charged-current scattering or nu_{mu} neutral-current scattering with a photon in the final state. No significant excess of events is observed in the reconstructed neutrino energy range from 475 to 1250 MeV, where 408 events are observed compared to an expectation of 385.9+/-35.7 events.
The MiniBooNE Collaboration reports a search for nu_{micro} and nu[over]_{micro} disappearance in the Deltam;{2} region of 0.5-40 eV;{2}. These measurements are important for constraining models with extra types of neutrinos, extra dimensions, and CPT violation. Fits to the shape of the nu_{micro} and nu[over]_{micro} energy spectra reveal no evidence for disappearance at the 90% confidence level (C.L.) in either mode. The test of nu[over]_{micro} disappearance probes a region below Deltam;{2} = 40 eV;{2} never explored before.
We report the first observation of off-axis neutrino interactions in the MiniBooNE detector from the NuMI beam line at Fermilab. The MiniBooNE detector is located 745 m from the NuMI production target, at 110 mrad angle (6.3 degrees) with respect to the NuMI beam axis. Samples of charged-current quasielastic numicro and nue interactions are analyzed and found to be in agreement with expectation. This provides a direct verification of the expected pion and kaon contributions to the neutrino flux and validates the modeling of the NuMI off-axis beam.