Hadron production measurements at NA61/SHINE for precise determination of accelerator neutrino fluxes
Simona Ilieva
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8 pages, 4 figures, submitted for the Proceedings for the conference: "NUCLEUS - 2020. Nuclear physics and elementary particle physics. Nuclear physics technologies"
The total systematic uncertainty of the neutrino flux in accelerator-based neutrino experiments is dominated by the Monte Carlo modeling of hadronic interactions. Direct hadron production measurements for T2K and Fermilab neutrino experiments, MINERvA, NOvA and DUNE, are being performed at the NA61/SHINE spectrometer at CERN's Super Proton Synchrotron. Crucial for improving neutrino flux predictions, hadron yields, inelastic and production cross sections are obtained at NA61/SHINE where interactions of various hadron beams with thin and thick (replica) targets are reproduced. Recently obtained results will be reported. An extension of NA61/SHINE's programme of hadron production measurements for neutrino experiments is planned beyond 2020.
As the intensity of neutrino beams produced at accelerators increases, important systematic errors due to poor knowledge of production cross sections for pions and kaons arise. Among other goals, the NA61/SHINE (SHINE=SPS Heavy Ion and Neutrino Experiment) detector at CERN SPS aims at precision hadro-production measurements to characterise the neutrino beam of the T2K experiment at J-PARC. These measurements are performed using a 30GeV proton beam produced at the SPS with a thin carbon target and a full T2K replica target. Preliminary spectra of $π^{+}$ and $π^{-}$ inclusive cross section were…
The NA61/SHINE collaboration performed measurements of pC interactions at 31 GeV/c beam momentum with a full size replica of the T2K target (1.9 interaction length) during a pilot run in 2007. Larger statistics runs were also conducted in 2009 and 2010. The NA61/SHINE setup consists in a large acceptance spectrometer located on the H2 beamline of the SPS at CERN. For the first time, the kinematical phase space of interest for an accelerator based neutrino experiment (i.e. kinematical phase space of pions/kaons exiting the target and producing neutrinos in the direction of the near and far dete…
A precise prediction of the neutrino flux is a key ingredient for achieving the physics goals of long-baseline neutrino experiments. In modern accelerator-based neutrino experiments, neutrino beams are created from the decays of secondary hadrons produced in hadron-nucleus interactions. Hadron production is the leading systematic uncertainty source on the neutrino flux prediction; therefore, its precise measurement is essential. The NA61/SHINE is a fixed-target experiment at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron, which studies hadron production in hadron-nucleus and nucleus-nucleus collisions for …
Precise prediction of the neutrino flux is a key ingredient to achieving the physics goals of accelerator-based neutrino experiments. In modern accelerator-based neutrino experiments, neutrino beams are created by colliding protons with a nuclear target. Secondary hadrons are produced in these collisions, and their decays contribute to the neutrino flux. The hadron production is the leading systematic uncertainty source on the neutrino flux prediction; therefore its precise measurement is desirable. In these proceedings, review of recent hadron production measurements and the latest results fr…
With the Large Hadron Collider entering its third year of granting us insight into the highest collision energies to date, one should nevertheless keep in mind the unexplored physics potential of lower energies. A prime example here is the NA61/SHINE experiment at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron. Using its large-acceptance hadronic spectrometer, SHINE aims to accomplish a number of physics goals: measuring spectra of identified hadrons in hadron-nucleus collisions to provide reference for accelerator neutrino experiments and cosmic-ray observatories, investigating particle properties in the …
This paper describes the hardware, firmware and software systems used in data acquisition for the NA61/SHINE experiment at the CERN SPS accelerator. Special emphasis is given to the design parameters of the readout electronics for the 40m^3 volume Time Projection Chamber detectors, as these give the largest contribution to event data among all the subdetectors: events consisting of 8bit ADC values from 256 timeslices of 200k electronic channels are to be read out with ~100Hz rate. The data acquisition system is organized in "push-data mode", i.e. local systems transmit data asynchronously. Tec…
This paper presents the Forward Time Projection Chamber (FTPC) system of the NA61/SHINE experiment at the CERN SPS accelerator. This TPC system applies a novel tandem-TPC design to reduce the background originating from particle tracks not synchronous with the event trigger. The FTPC system is composed of three chambers with alternating drift field directions. The chambers were installed directly along the beamline region of the NA61/SHINE detector in a medium- to high-intensity (10-100 kHz) hadron or ion beam. The tandem TPC system has proved to be capable of rejecting out-of-time background …
An important approach to studying high-energy cosmic rays is the investigation of the properties of extensive air showers; however, the lateral distribution of particles in simulations of such showers strongly depends on the applied model of low-energy hadronic interactions. It has been shown that many constraints to be applied to these models can be obtained by studying identified-particle spectra from accelerator collisions, in the energy range of the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron. Here we present measurements of the pion production cross-section obtained by the NA61/SHINE experiment at the …
A precise prediction of the neutrino flux is a critical input for achieving the physics goals of accelerator-based neutrino experiments. In modern experiments, neutrino beams are created from the decays of secondary hadrons produced in hadron-nucleus interactions. Hadron production is the leading systematic uncertainty source on the neutrino flux prediction; therefore, its precise measurement is essential. In this proceedings, recent results and ongoing analyses of hadron production measurements by the NA61/SHINE experiment, as well as prospect for achievable precision on the flux predictions …
A precise prediction of expected neutrino fluxes is required for a long-baseline accelerator neutrino experiment. The flux is used to measure neutrino cross sections at the near detector, while at the far detector it provides an estimate of the expected signal for the study of neutrino oscillations. In the talk several approaches to constrain the neutrino flux are presented. The first is the traditional one when an interaction chain for the neutrino parent hadrons is stored to be weighted later with real measurements. In this approach differential hadron cross sections are used which, in turn,…
Measurements of hadron production in p+C interactions at 31 GeV/c are performed using the NA61/ SHINE spectrometer at the CERN SPS. The analysis is based on the full set of data collected in 2009 using a graphite target with a thickness of 4% of a nuclear interaction length. Inelastic and production cross sections as well as spectra of $π^\pm$, $K^\pm$, p, $K^0_S$ and $Λ$ are measured with high precision. These measurements are essential for improved calculations of the initial neutrino fluxes in the T2K long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment in Japan. A comparison of the NA61/SHINE mea…
The Accelerator Neutrino Neutron Interaction Experiment (ANNIE) aims to make a unique measurement of neutron yield from neutrino-nucleus interactions and to perform R&D for the next generation of water-based neutrino detectors. In this paper, we characterize beam-induced neutron backgrounds in the experimental hall at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. It is shown that the background levels are sufficiently low to allow the next stage of the experiment to proceed. These measurements are relevant to other Booster Neutrino Beam (BNB) experiments located adjacent to ANNIE Hall, where dirt neu…
Recent results obtained by the HARP collaboration on the measurements of the double-differential production cross-section of positive and negative pions in proton interactions with nuclear targets from Beryllium to Lead are presented. They cover production at small angles (30-210 mrad) and relatively large momenta up to 8 GeV/c as well as large angles (0.35 - 2.15 rad) and small momenta (0.1 - 0.8 GeV/c). These results are relevant for a detailed understanding of neutrino fluxes in accelerator neutrino experiments, better prediction of atmospheric neutrino fluxes, optimization of a future neut…
Recent results from the HARP experiment on the measurements of the double-differential production cross-section of pions in proton interactions with beryllium, carbon and tantalum targets are presented. These results are relevant for a detailed understanding of neutrino flux in accelerator neutrino experiments MiniBooNE/SciBooNE, for a better prediction of atmospheric neutrino fluxes as well as for an optimization of a future neutrino factory design.
We present a reanalysis of nonstandard neutrino-down-quark interactions of electron and tau neutrinos using solar, reactor and accelerator data. In addition updating the analysis by including new solar data from SNO phase III and Borexino, as well as new KamLAND data and solar fluxes, a key role is played in our analysis by the combination of these results with the CHARM data. The latter allows us to better constrain the axial and axial-vector electron and tau-neutrino nonstandard interaction parameters characterizing the deviations from the Standard Model predictions.
Hadron production is a key ingredient in many aspects of neutrino physics. Precise prediction of atmospheric neutrino fluxes, characterization of accelerator neutrino beams, quantification of pion production and capture for neutrino factory designs, all of these would profit of high-statistics, high-precision hadron production measurements. In addition, such data is needed for the calibration of Monte-Carlo hadron production models. The HARP experiment at CERN is performing extensive measurements of cross sections and secondary particle yields to address these problems.
We analyze all available solar and related reactor neutrino experiments, as well as simulated future 7Be, p-p, pep, and ^8B solar neutrino experiments. We treat all solar neutrino fluxes as free parameters subject to the condition that the total luminosity represented by the neutrinos equals the observed solar luminosity (the `luminosity constraint'). Existing experiments show that the p-p solar neutrino flux is 1.02 +- 0.02 (1 sigma) times the flux predicted by the BP00 standard solar model; the 7Be neutrino flux is 0.93^{+0.25}_{-0.63} the predicted flux; and the ^8B flux is 1.01 +- 0.04 the…
While supernova remnants have been identified as the most likely sources of the galactic cosmic rays, no conclusive observational evidence for this association exists. We show here that IceCube has the possibility of producing incontrovertible evidence by detecting neutrinos produced by the cosmic ray beam interacting with the hydrogen in the vicinity of the supernova shock expanding into the interstellar medium. We show that the observational information on gamma ray fluxes from the Cygnus region, although limited, is sufficient to pinpoint the expected event rate of the neutrinos associated …
Taking into account recent theoretical and experimental inputs on reactor fluxes we reconsider the determination of the weak mixing angle from low energy experiments. We perform a global analysis to all available neutrino-electron scattering data from reactor antineutrino experiments, obtaining sin^2(theta_W) = 0.252 \pm 0.030. We discuss the impact of the new theoretical prediction for the neutrino spectrum, the new measurement of the reactor antineutrino spectrum by the Daya Bay collaboration, as well as the effect of radiative corrections. We also reanalyze the measurements of the nu_e-e cr…
We present an up-to-date global analysis of solar, atmospheric, reactor, and accelerator neutrino data in the framework of three-neutrino oscillations. We provide results on the determination of theta_13 from global data and discuss the dependence on the choice of reactor fluxes. We study in detail the statistical significance of a possible deviation of theta_23 from maximal mixing, the determination of its octant, the ordering of the mass states, and the sensitivity to the CP violating phase, and discuss the role of various complementary data sets in those respects.
As accelerator-neutrino oscillation experiments improve oscillation parameter constraints, control over systematic uncertainties on the incoming neutrino flux and interaction models is increasingly important. The intense beams offered by modern experiments permit a variety of options to constrain the flux using in situ "standard candle" measurements. These standard candles must use very well understood processes to avoid introducing bias. One option discussed in this context is the "low-$ν$" method, designed to isolate neutrino interactions where there is low energy-transfer to the nucleus, su…
Sampling Off-Axis Neutrino Fluxes with the Short-Baseline Near Detector
Tufts University（塔夫茨大学）；Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory（费米国家加速器实验室）；Argonne National Laboratory（阿贡国家实验室）；University of Texas at Arlington（德克萨斯大学阿灵顿分校）；CIEMAT, Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas（西班牙能源、环境和技术研究中央委员会）；Illinois Institute of Technology（伊利诺伊理工学院）；University of Liverpool（利物浦大学）；University of California, Santa Barbara（加州大学圣巴巴拉分校）；University of Manchester（曼彻斯特大学）；Mount Holyoke College（蒙特霍利约克学院）；University of Oxford（牛津大学）；Imperial College London（帝国理工学院）；University of Sheffield, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences（谢菲尔德大学数学与物理科学学院）；Louisiana State University（路易斯安那州立大学）
Ultra-high energy cosmic rays and neutrinos probe energies far above the weak scale. Their usefulness might appear to be limited by astrophysical uncertainties; however, by simultaneously considering up- and down-going events, one may disentangle particle physics from astrophysics. We show that present data from the AMANDA experiment in the South Pole ice already imply an upper bound on neutrino cross sections at energy scales that will likely never be probed at man-made accelerators. The existing data also place an upper limit on the neutrino flux valid for any neutrino cross section. In the …
This paper presents several measurements of total production cross sections and total inelastic cross sections for the following reactions: $π^{+}$+C, $π^{+}$+Al, $K^{+}$+C, $K^{+}$+Al at 60 GeV/c, $π^{+}$+C and $π^{+}$+Al at 31 GeV/c . The measurements were made using the NA61/SHINE spectrometer at the CERN SPS. Comparisons with previous measurements are given and good agreement is seen. These interaction cross sections measurements are a key ingredient for neutrino flux prediction from the reinteractions of secondary hadrons in current and future accelerator-based long-baseline neutrino expe…
Precise knowledge of hadron production rates in the generation of neutrino beams is necessary for accelerator-based neutrino experiments to achieve their physics goals. NA61/SHINE, a large-acceptance hadron spectrometer, has recorded hadron+nucleus interactions relevant to ongoing and future long-baseline neutrino experiments at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. This paper presents three analyses of interactions of 60 GeV/$c$ $π^+$ with thin, fixed carbon and beryllium targets. Integrated production and inelastic cross sections were measured for both of these reactions. In an analysis of …
Charged-current neutrino interactions with low hadronic recoil ("low-nu") have a cross-section that is approximately constant versus neutrino energy. These interactions have been used to measure the shape of neutrino fluxes as a function of neutrino energy at accelerator-based neutrino experiments such as CCFR, NuTeV, MINOS and MINERvA. In this paper, we demonstrate that low-nu events can be used to measure parameters of neutrino flux and detector models and that utilization of event distributions over the upstream detector face can discriminate among parameters that affect the neutrino flux m…
This paper presents measurements of production cross sections and inelastic cross sections for the following reactions: 60 GeV/$c$ protons with C, Be, Al targets and 120 GeV/$c$ protons with C and Be targets. The analysis was performed using the NA61/SHINE spectrometer at the CERN SPS. First measurements were obtained using protons at 120 GeV/$c$, while the results for protons at 60 GeV/$c$ were compared with previously published measurements. These interaction cross section measurements are critical inputs for neutrino flux prediction in current and future accelerator-based long-baseline neut…
The fixed-target MIPP experiment, Fermilab E907, was designed to measure the production of hadrons from the collisions of hadrons of momenta ranging from 5 to 120 GeV/c on a variety of nuclei. These data will generally improve the simulation of particle detectors and predictions of particle beam fluxes at accelerators. The spectrometer momentum resolution is between 3 and 4%, and particle identification is performed for particles ranging between 0.3 and 80 GeV/c using $dE/dx$, time-of-flight and Cherenkov radiation measurements. MIPP collected $1.42 \times10^6$ events of 120 GeV Main Injector …
