Nuclear Effects in Neutrino Detection
- UC, Davis
Although the interactions of neutrinos with elementary particles are described with impressive precision by the Standard Model, neutrino-nucleus reactions remain less well understood. Improvements in our knowledge of neutrino-nucleus scattering will be an important requirement for the success of future experimental efforts involving neutrinos at both low ($$\sim$$\SI{10}{\MeV}) and medium ($$\sim$$\SI{1}{\GeV}) energies. In the low energy regime, the planned DUNE experiment will attempt to observe neutrinos from a nearby core-collapse supernova using liquid argon time projection chambers (LArTPCs). Unlike other large neutrino detectors, which are primarily sensitive to electron antineutrinos, DUNE will observe mostly charged current absorptions of electron neutrinos on \isotope[40]{Ar} in response to a supernova, providing a unique window into the physics of stellar collapse. Despite the importance of low-energy neutrino-nucleus reactions to DUNE's supernova physics goals, prior to the work presented in this thesis, no thorough consideration of the many possible final states generated by neutrino-argon scattering, including those involving the emission of nucleons or heavier nuclear fragments, had yet been attempted in the literature for the energy range of interest for supernova neutrinos. To aid DUNE's supernova physics program, this thesis presents a detailed theoretical model of low-energy neutrino-argon scattering. This model has been implemented within a new event generator called MARLEY (Model of Argon Reaction Low Energy Yields) which may be used to simulate realistic $$\isotope[40]{Ar}(\nu_e,e^-)\isotope[40]{K}^*$$ events for LArTPC supernova neutrino sensitivity studies. At medium energies, large theoretical uncertainties in predictions of neutrino-induced neutron production present a problem for precision neutrino oscillation experiments, attempts to discover the Diffuse Supernova Neutrino Background, and searches for proton decay. To const rain the widely-varying predictions of current nuclear model! s, the Accelerator Neutrino Neutron Interaction Experiment (ANNIE) collaboration plans to make a systematic measurement of neutron production by neutrino interactions in water. Because the ANNIE experimental hall is located only \SI{100}{\meter} away from the Fermilab Booster Neutrino Beam target, background neutrons correlated in time with the beam could potentially interfere with this proposed measurement. As a first step toward ANNIE's ultimate physics goals, this thesis presents an analysis of background neutron rates as a function of position within the ANNIE detector. These rates are found to be small enough for the neutron yield measurements to proceed as planned.
- Research Organization:
- Fermi National Accelerator Lab. (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), High Energy Physics (HEP)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC02-07CH11359
- OSTI ID:
- 1637626
- Report Number(s):
- FERMILAB-THESIS-2018-37; oai:inspirehep.net:1802074
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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