Session D11: Accelerator Neutrinos

The SciBooNE neutrino experiment at Fermilab: an overview

The precise measurement of neutrino-nucleus cross-sections in the few GeV energy range is an essential ingredient in the interpretation of neutrino oscillation experiments. For the measurement of the cross-sections, a new experiment, SciBooNE, has been proposed and approved at Fermilab. From June 2007, SciBooNE has started operation and data taking. The experiment is carried out by installing the K2K SciBar detector in the FNAL Booster Neutrino Beamline. The marriage of a high rate, low energy neutrino beam and the fine granularity of SciBar detector is unique for precise measurements of neutrino cross sections since both the beamline and detectors have been built and operated successfully. We will present an overview of the SciBooNE physics program with emphasis on unique elements of the detector systems that allow for identification and measurement of several types of neutrino interactions.   

Construction of, and Component Testing for, the SciBooNE Muon Range Detector Counters

The Muon Range Detector (MRD) is one of three subsystems comprising the SciBooNE detector currently running in the Booster Neutrino Beamline at Fermilab. The MRD was constructed from recycled plastic scintillator panels and photomultiplier tubes between June 2006 and March 2007. This paper describes the selection, testing, and characterization of the photomultipliers, the testing of the completed counters, the assembly of the MRD itself, and its deployment in the SciBooNE detector enclosure and subsequent operation.   

Measurements of neutrino charged current interactions at SciBooNE

The SciBooNE experiment (FNAL E954) is designed to measure the neutrino cross sections on carbon in the one GeV region. These measurements are essential for the future neutrino oscillation experiments. Additionally, SciBooNE serves as a near detector for MiniBooNE experiment using the same neutrino beamline by constraining the neutrino fluxes. In this talk, we focus on measurements of inclusive muon neutrino charged current interactions and the neutrino energy spectrum at SciBooNE. The neutrino energy spectrum will be used for the search for muon neutrino disappearance between SciBooNE and MiniBooNE detectors. We have been taking data from the Fermilab booster neutrino beam since June 2007. The preliminary results of the analysis will be reported.   

Charged current single charged pion production in SciBooNE

The SciBooNE experiment is designed to measure neutrino cross sections on carbon near one GeV, which is important for future neutrino oscillation experiments. This talk focuses on a measurement of the charged current single charged pion production cross section in SciBooNE. If the final state pion is not observed, the event looks like a charged current quasi-elastic interaction. Hence, this interaction mode is the main background to muon neutrino disappearance measurements. The experiment uses a fully active, fine segmented scintillator tracking detector which is called SciBar. Unlike a water Cherenkov detector, the fine granularity of the SciBar detector allows us to detect all charged particles from the vertex. In addition, SciBooNE has the ability to separate the final state pions from protons using dE/dx information. We have been taking data since June 2007. Preliminary results of the analysis on the SciBooNE neutrino data will be presented in this talk.   

High track multiplicity events in SciBooNE

SciBooNE is a neutrino cross section experiment made to accurately measure neutrino and anti-neutrino cross sections in carbon below 1 GeV neutrino energy. This talk focuses on preliminary results for 3 or more tracks (high track multiplicity) neutrino events. High track multiplicity events in SciBooNE are largely due to charged current neutral pion production (nu + n -$>$ mu + p + pi0). Charged current neutral pion production studies are particularly interesting because neutral pion decay to two photons may be reconstructed as an electron neutrino charged current interaction, so it represents a background for electron neutrino appearance in oscillation experiments. The SciBooNE detector gives good particle identification capabilities provided by dE/dx information and fine granularity of the main sub-detector SciBar, reconstruction of electromagnetic energy clusters in the electromagnetic calorimeter `Electron Catcher' and muon tagging in the Muon Range Detector. SciBooNE data taking started in June 2007.   

Electron and Gamma Identification for the measurement of the neutral pion cross section in SciBooNE.

The SciBooNE experiment is designed to measure neutrino cross sections on carbon in the one GeV region using the Booster Neutrino beam at Fermilab. Neutral pion production is important for future neutrino oscillation experiments, as it is one of the main backgrounds in electron neutrino appearance searches. Because the gamma ray from the neutral pion could be misidentified as an electron and mimic an electron neutrino interaction. It is possible to identify the electron and gamma with the fully active scintillator detector (SciBar) and the spaghetti calorimeter (Electron Cathcher).In this talk, I would like to show the performance of the identification of gamma rays using dE/dx and the track shape information in SciBar.   

Identification of Recoil Proton Tracks for a Neutrino Neutral-Current Elastic Scattering Cross-Section Measurement at SciBooNE

SciBooNE is an experiment for measurement of neutrino-nucleus interaction cross-sections in the few GeV energy region using the FNAL Booster Neutrino Beam. The SciBar detector is a fully active, finely segmented scintillator tracking detector. SciBar's proton/pion separation capability allows proton tracks to be identified, enabling a measurement of neutral-current elastic scattering cross-section. The neutral-current elastic scattering cross-section is sensitive to the axial form factor, and so has bearing on our understanding nucleon spin structure. Proton/pion separation can also reduce one of the backgrounds for charged-current quasi elastic scattering channel. In this talk, I will present the proton identification ability of SciBar.   

A Study of the NuMI Beam in the SciBooNE Detector

The MiniBooNE and SciBooNE experiments, designed to detect neutrino events from the Fermilab Booster, can see events from the NuMI beam, albeit at significant angles. In fact, SciBooNE lies at an off axis angle of 543 mrad, five times greater than MiniBooNE. In this talk, I outline the process of neutrino production in NuMI and describe the off axis simulation of event rates at SciBooNE from NuMI Monte Carlo output. A Pauli-suppression parameter, $\kappa$, introduced by the MiniBooNE collaboration in their description of muon neutrino charged current quasi-elastic scattering on Carbon, is applied to see its effect on the prediction of NuMI events at SciBooNE. A geometric acceptance restriction on the events is utilized to single out those leading to the capture of the outgoing muon in SciBar. Finally, the MiniBooNE NuMI trigger timing is summarized for its relevance to a possible SciBooNE NuMI trigger.