Neutrino - Induced Muons in the MINOS Far Detector

Thesis/Dissertation · Wed Aug 25 04:00:00 EDT 2004

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/15011496· OSTI ID:15011496

Rebel, Brian J. ^[1]

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1. Indiana Univ., Bloomington, IN (United States)

The Main Injector Neutrino Oscillation Search (MINOS) is an experiment designed to probe the phenomenon of neutrino oscillations. When MINOS is completed it will consist of a neutrino beam and two detectors, which are separated by a distance of 735 km. The near detector measures the energy distribution and ux of a beam of muon neutrinos produced at Fermilab, while the far detector, located in Soudan, MN, measures these same neutrino properties 735 km away. The signal for a detection of neutrino oscillations is a de cit of neutrinos at the far detector compared to expectations based on the near detector measurements. In addition to measuring beam neutrinos, the far detector can be used to measure neutrinos produced in cosmic ray interactions in the atmosphere. While waiting for the beam to begin running, the far detector was used in this mode. Several previous experiments, such as Super-K and MACRO, have suggested that the atmospheric neutrinos oscillate between di erent avor states. This dissertation looks for an oscillation signal in the atmospheric neutrinos by using muons resulting from the interaction of the atmospheric neutrinos in the rock surrounding the MINOS far detector.

• Research Organization: Fermi National Accelerator Lab. (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-76CH03000
• OSTI ID: 15011496
• Report Number(s): FERMILAB-THESIS--2004-33
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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