Study of Reconstructed ³⁹Ar Beta Decays at the MicroBooNE Detector

Technical Report · Fri Jun 29 04:00:00 EDT 2018

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1573057· OSTI ID:1573057

In atmospheric argon, ³⁹Ar beta decays occur at a rate of roughly one Becquerel per kilogram; as a result, large liquid argon time projection chambers (LArTPCs) see plentiful amounts of these decays in each event readout window. These ³⁹Ar beta decays can provide a variety of different uses in LArTPC experiments. They allow for the study of reconstructing point-like ionization charge deposition in the detector, which is relevant for the reconstruction of supernova neutrino interactions. The point-like topology and well-known energy spectrum of ³⁹Ar beta decays also provides a unique handle for calibrations. Presented here is the first study of reconstructing ³⁹Ar beta decays in the MicroBooNE LArTPC. The spectrum of reconstructed electron energies from ³⁹Ar beta decays, measured using raw TPC waveforms, is found to have a similar end point as the predicted distribution. Additionally, the signal shapes of reconstructed ³⁹Ar beta decay candidates are used to validate the collection plane wire field response.

• Research Organization: Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC), High Energy Physics (HEP) (SC-25)
• Contributing Organization: MicroBooNE Collaboration
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-07CH11359
• OSTI ID: 1573057
• Report Number(s): FERMILAB-MICROBOONE-NOTE--1050-PUB; MICROBOONE-NOTE-1050-PUB; oai:inspirehep.net:1763011
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS