학술논문

Rejecting cosmic background for exclusive charged current quasi elastic neutrino interaction studies with Liquid Argon TPCs; a case study with the MicroBooNE detector
Document Type
article
Source
European Physical Journal C. 79(8)
Subject
Nuclear and Plasma Physics
Particle and High Energy Physics
Physical Sciences
Atomic
Molecular
Nuclear
Particle and Plasma Physics
Quantum Physics
Nuclear & Particles Physics
Astronomical sciences
Atomic
molecular and optical physics
Particle and high energy physics
Language
Abstract
Cosmic ray (CR) interactions can be a challenging source of background for neutrino oscillation and cross-section measurements in surface detectors. We present methods for CR rejection in measurements of charged-current quasielastic-like (CCQE-like) neutrino interactions, with a muon and a proton in the final state, measured using liquid argon time projection chambers (LArTPCs). Using a sample of cosmic data collected with the MicroBooNE detector, mixed with simulated neutrino scattering events, a set of event selection criteria is developed that produces an event sample with minimal contribution from CR background. Depending on the selection criteria used a purity between 50 and 80% can be achieved with a signal selection efficiency between 50 and 25%, with higher purity coming at the expense of lower efficiency. While using a specific dataset and selection criteria values optimized for the MicroBooNE detector, the concepts presented here are generic and can be adapted for various studies of exclusive νμ CCQE interactions in LArTPCs.