Neutrino Event Selection in the MicroBooNE Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber using Wire-Cell 3-D Imaging, Clustering, and Charge-Light Matching
MicroBooNE collaboration, P. Abratenko, M. Alrashed, R. An, J. Anthony, J. Asaadi, A. Ashkenazi, S. Balasubramanian, B. Baller, C. Barnes, G. Barr, V. Basque, L… 展开作者
MicroBooNE collaboration, P. Abratenko, M. Alrashed, R. An, J. Anthony, J. Asaadi, A. Ashkenazi, S. Balasubramanian, B. Baller, C. Barnes, G. Barr, V. Basque, L. Bathe-Peters, O. Benevides Rodrigues, S. Berkman, A. Bhanderi, A. Bhat, M. Bishai, A. Blake, T. Bolton, L. Camilleri, D. Caratelli, I. Caro Terrazas, R. Castillo Fernandez, F. Cavanna, G. Cerati, Y. Chen, E. Church, D. Cianci, J. M. Conrad, M. Convery, L. Cooper-Troendle, J. I. Crespo-Anadon, M. Del Tutto, D. Devitt, R. Diurba, L. Domine, R. Dorrill, K. Duffy, S. Dytman, B. Eberly, A. Ereditato, L. Escudero Sanchez, J. J. Evans, G. A. Fiorentini Aguirre, R. S. Fitzpatrick, B. T. Fleming, N. Foppiani, D. Franco, A. P. Furmanski, D. Garcia-Gamez, S. Gardiner, G. Ge, S. Gollapinni, O. Goodwin, E. Gramellini, P. Green, H. Greenlee, W. Gu, R. Guenette, P. Guzowski, E. Hall, P. Hamilton, O. Hen, G. A. Horton-Smith, A. Hourlier, E. C. Huang, R. Itay, C. James, J. Jan de Vries, X. Ji, L. Jiang, J. H. Jo, R. A. Johnson, Y. J. Jwa, N. Kamp, G. Karagiorgi, W. Ketchum, B. Kirby, M. Kirby, T. Kobilarcik, I. Kreslo, R. LaZur, I. Lepetic, K. Li, Y. Li, B. R. Littlejohn, D. Lorca, W. C. Louis, X. Luo, A. Marchionni, S. Marcocci, C. Mariani, D. Marsden, J. Marshall, J. Martin-Albo, D. A. Martinez Caicedo, K. Mason, A. Mastbaum, N. McConkey, V. Meddage, T. Mettler, K. Miller, J. Mills, K. Mistry, T. Mohayai, A. Mogan, J. Moon, M. Mooney, A. F. Moor, C. D. Moore, J. Mousseau, M. Murphy, D. Naples, A. Navrer-Agasson, R. K. Neely, P. Nienaber, J. Nowak, O. Palamara, V. Paolone, A. Papadopoulou, V. Papavassiliou, S. F. Pate, A. Paudel, Z. Pavlovic, E. Piasetzky, I. Ponce-Pinto, D. Porzio, S. Prince, X. Qian, J. L. Raaf, V. Radeka, A. Rafique, M. Reggiani-Guzzo, L. Ren, L. Rochester, J. Rodriguez Rondon, H. E. Rogers, M. Rosenberg, M. Ross-Lonergan, B. Russell, G. Scanavini, D. W. Schmitz, A. Schukraft, M. H. Shaevitz, R. Sharankova, J. Sinclair, A. Smith, E. L. Snider, M. Soderberg, S. Soldner-Rembold, S. R. Soleti, P. Spentzouris, J. Spitz, M. Stancari, J. St. John, T. Strauss, K. Sutton, S. Sword-Fehlberg, A. M. Szelc, N. Tagg, W. Tang, K. Terao, C. Thorpe, M. Toups, Y. -T. Tsai, S. Tufanli, M. A. Uchida, T. Usher, W. Van De Pontseele, B. Viren, M. Weber, H. Wei, Z. Williams, S. Wolbers, T. Wongjirad, M. Wospakrik, W. Wu, T. Yang, G. Yarbrough, L. E. Yates, H. W. Yu, G. P. Zeller, J. Zennamo, C. Zhang
An accurate and efficient event reconstruction is required to realize the full scientific capability of liquid argon time projection chambers (LArTPCs). The current and future neutrino experiments that rely on massive LArTPCs create a need for new ideas and reconstruction approaches. Wire-Cell, proposed in recent years, is a novel tomographic event reconstruction method for LArTPCs. The Wire-Cell 3D imaging approach capitalizes on charge, sparsity, time, and geometry information to reconstruct a topology-agnostic 3D image of the ionization electrons prior to pattern recognition. A second novel method, the many-to-many charge-light matching, then pairs the TPC charge activity to the detected scintillation light signal, thus enabling a powerful rejection of cosmic-ray muons in the MicroBooNE detector. A robust processing of the scintillation light signal and an appropriate clustering of the reconstructed 3D image are fundamental to this technique. In this paper, we describe the principles and algorithms of these techniques and their successful application in the MicroBooNE experiment. A quantitative evaluation of the performance of these techniques is presented. Using these techniques, a 95% efficient pre-selection of neutrino charged-current events is achieved with a 30-fold reduction of non-beam-coincident cosmic-ray muons, and about 80\% of the selected neutrino charged-current events are reconstructed with at least 70% completeness and 80% purity.
Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber detectors are well suited to study neutrino interactions, and are an intriguing option for future massive detectors capable of measuring the parameters that characterize neutrino oscillations. These detectors combine fine-grained tracking with calorimetry, allowing for excellent imaging and particle identification ability. In this talk the details of the MicroBooNE experiment, a 175 ton LArTPC which will be exposed to Fermilab's Booster Neutrino Beamline starting in 2011, will be presented. The ability of MicroBooNE to differentiate electrons from photons g…
Measuring the argon purity is critical for all Ar-based rare event research experiments. Mass spectrometry is typically used to assess the uranium and thorium contamination in samples of the materials used to build low-background detectors; however, this technique has the potential to provide other valuable information that is currently not exploited. We have shown that, by ICP-MS, it is possible to identify and quantify common chemical contaminants in argon. Preliminary tests were done with the gas extracted from the experiments MicroBooNE at FNAL and ArDM at LSC. In the former case, we evide…
MicroBooNE is a neutrino experiment located on axis in the Booster Neutrino Beamline, at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, scheduled to begin data collection in 2014. The MicroBooNE detector consists of two main components: a large liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC), and a light collection system. Thirty two 8-inch diameter cryogenic photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) will detect the scintillation light generated in the liquid argon. In this article, we describe the basic features of the system and current status of MicroBooNE light collection system.
MicroBooNE (the Micro Booster Neutrino Experiment) is a short-baseline neutrino experiment based on the technology of a liquid-argon time-projection chamber (LArTPC), and has recently completed its first year of data-taking in the Fermilab Booster Neutrino Beam. It aims to address the anomalous excess of events with an electromagnetic final state in MiniBooNE, to measure neutrino-argon interaction cross sections, and to provide relevant R\&D for the future LArTPC experiments, such as DUNE. In these proceedings, we present the first reconstructed energy spectrum of Michel electrons from cosmic …
In this paper we describe how the readout planes for the MicroBooNE Time Projection Chamber were constructed, assembled and installed. We present the individual wire preparation using semi-automatic winding machines and the assembly of wire carrier boards. The details of the wire installation on the detector frame and the tensioning of the wires are given. A strict quality assurance plan ensured the integrity of the readout planes. The different tests performed at all stages of construction and installation provided crucial information to achieve the successful realisation of the MicroBooNE wi…
The MicroBooNE experiment is a liquid argon TPC experiment designed for short-baseline neutrino physics, currently running at Fermilab. Due to its location near the surface, cosmic muons can be a source of backgrounds to many analyses and having a good understanding of the cosmic rays will be very valuable for the experiment. These proceedings describe the physics motivation, setup, and performance of a small external muon counter system, which will provide improved calibration for the liquid argon TPC and better understanding of the cosmogenic background.
A good understanding of the cross sections for neutrino interactions with nucleons and nuclei is crucial for neutrino oscillation studies, in addition to providing a tool for the exploration of nucleon and nuclear structures. The MicroBooNE liquid-argon time-projection-chamber (LArTPC) experiment has been taking neutrino data with the Booster Neutrino Beam at Fermilab since 2015. The LArTPC capabilities in track reconstruction, energy measurement, and particle identification allow us to probe interesting regions of neutrino-argon scattering cross sections and to probe the quark composition of …
The proliferation of liquid argon time projection chamber detectors makes the characterization of the dielectric properties of liquid argon a critical task. To improve understanding of these properties, a systematic study of the breakdown electric field in liquid argon was conducted using a dedicated cryostat connected to the MicroBooNE cryogenic system at Fermilab. An electrode sphere-plate geometry was implemented using spheres with diameters of 1.3 mm, 5.0 mm, and 76 mm. The MicroBooNE cryogenic system allowed measurements to be taken at a variety of electronegative contamination levels ran…
Detectors in particle physics, particularly when including cryogenic components, are often enclosed in vessels that do not provide any physical or visual access to the detectors themselves after installation. However, it can be desirable for experiments to visually investigate the inside of the vessel. The MicroBooNE cryostat hosts a TPC with sense-wire planes, which had to be inspected for damage such as breakage or sagging. This paper describes an approach to view the inside of the MicroBooNE cryostat with a setup of a camera and a mirror through one of its cryogenic service nozzles. The pap…
We compare the observed charged particle multiplicity distributions in the MicroBooNE liquid argon time projection chamber from neutrino interactions in a restricted final state phase space to predictions of this distribution from several GENIE models. The measurement uses a data sample consisting of neutrino interactions with a final state muon candidate fully contained within the MicroBooNE detector. These data were collected in 2015-2016 with the Fermilab Booster Neutrino Beam (BNB), which has an average neutrino energy of 800 MeV, using an exposure corresponding to 5e19 protons-on-target. …
The MicroBooNE experiment at Fermilab uses liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) technology to study neutrino interactions in argon. A fundamental requirement for LArTPCs is to achieve and maintain a low level of electronegative contaminants in the liquid to minimize the capture of drifting ionization electrons. The attenuation time for the drifting electrons should be long compared to the maximum drift time, so that the signals from particle tracks that generate ionization electrons with long drift paths can be detected efficiently. In this talk we present MicroBooNE measurement of el…
We present a model for the Global Quantum Efficiency (GQE) of the MicroBooNE optical units. An optical unit consists of a flat, circular acrylic plate, coated with tetraphenyl butadiene (TPB), positioned near the photocathode of a 20.2-cm diameter photomultiplier tube. The plate converts the ultra-violet scintillation photons from liquid argon into visible-spectrum photons to which the cryogenic phototubes are sensitive. The GQE is the convolution of the efficiency of the plates that convert the 128 nm scintillation light from liquid argon to visible light, the efficiency of the shifted light …
The MicroBooNE detector, to be located on axis in the Booster Neutrino Beamline (BNB) at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab), consists of two main components: a large liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC), and a light collection system. Thirty 8-inch diameter Hamamatsu R5912-02mod cryogenic photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) will detect the scintillation light generated in the liquid argon (LAr). This article first describes the MicroBooNE PMT performance test procedures, including how the light collection system functions in the detector, and the design of the PMT base. The…
The MicroBooNE experiment is an upcoming liquid argon TPC experiment which will pursue a program of short baseline neutrino physics in the Fermilab Booster Neutrino Beam, starting in early 2014. I give a description of the experiment and review the current status of various aspects of the MicroBooNE detector.
A description of the combination of time projection chamber read-out with optical information in the MicroBooNE detector to reduce cosmogenic backgrounds and select electron neutrino induced interactions.
Recently, MiniBooNE observed an electromagnetic excess at low energy. What is the nature of this excess? What about the nature of the low-energy excess at LSND 20 years ago? The MicroBooNE detector will see neutrinos from the same Booster beam at Fermilab as used by MiniBooNE. MicroBooNE's design will enable us to discriminate photons from electrons elucidating the MiniBooNE and LSND low-energy electromagnetic excesses. MicroBooNE is a 170 ton liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) capable of imaging neutrino interactions with the detail of a bubble chamber, but with electronic data acq…
MicroBooNE is a liquid-argon-based neutrino experiment, which began collecting data in Fermilab's Booster neutrino beam in October 2015. Physics goals of the experiment include probing the source of the anomalous excess of electron-like events in MiniBooNE. In addition to this, MicroBooNE is carrying out an extensive cross section physics program that will help to probe current theories on neutrino-nucleon interactions and nuclear effects. These proceedings summarise the status of MicroBooNE's neutrino cross section analyses.
The MicroBooNE experiment is a 170 ton Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LArTPC) that will begin running at Fermilab in 2013. Its primary physics goal is to explore the low energy excess of events seen by the MiniBooNE experiment and it is the next step in the R&D to make LAr a viable option for future large neutrino detectors. This talk presented an overview of the MicroBooNE experiment with an emphasis on the light collection system and recent technical advances.
The MicroBooNE detector has recently completed its first year of neutrino beam data-taking in the Booster Neutrino Beam at Fermilab, having collected approximately half of its intended data ($3.4\times10^{20}$ of $6.6\times10^{20}$ protons on target). We present kinematic distributions of neutrino interactions observed from a small subset of this data (equivalent to $5\times10^{19}$ protons on target), both as a first step towards a charged-current muon neutrino cross-section on argon, and as an exploration of the capabilities and operational challenges of large liquid argon time projection ch…
This paper presents the proposed PMT readout and triggering system that will be used in the MicroBooNE LArTPC experiment. The triggering scheme has been designed to study beam neutrino events as well as fully characterize cosmic rays. In addition, exploration of important physics applications including "late" scintillation light in argon and Michel electrons from muon decay will be possible. Various types of triggers and how they will be implemented in the combined PMT+TPC readout electronics system will be discussed.
The liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) detector technology provides an opportunity for precision neutrino oscillation measurements, neutrino cross section measurements, and searches for rare processes, such as SuperNova neutrino detection. These proceedings review current and future LArTPC neutrino experiments. Particular focus is paid to the ICARUS, MicroBooNE, LAr1, 2-LArTPC at CERN-SPS, LBNE, and 100 kton at Okinoshima experiments.
We describe in these GLA2011 proceedings the software package LArSoft, a toolkit to perform simulation, analysis and reconstruction with the Liquid Argon (LAr) Time Projection Chambers (TPCs) within the US program of proposed detectors. We demonstrate that LArSoft is a fast-maturing, sophisticated package which has taken on important analyses already, and which stands ready to be adopted by as many as five Liquid Argon Time Projection Chambers.
The MicroBooNE liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) maintains a high level of liquid argon purity through the use of a filtration system that removes electronegative contaminants in continuously-circulated liquid, recondensed boil off, and externally supplied argon gas. We use the MicroBooNE LArTPC to reconstruct MeV-scale radiological decays. Using this technique we measure the liquid argon filtration system's efficacy at removing radon. This is studied by placing a 500 kBq $^{222}$Rn source upstream of the filters and searching for a time-dependent increase in the number of radiolog…
Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber detectors are ideally suited for studying neutrino interactions and probing the parameters that characterize neutrino oscillations. The ability to drift ionization particles over long distances in purified argon and to trigger on abundant scintillation light allows for excellent particle identification and triggering capability. In these proceedings the details of the ArgoNeuT test-beam project will be presented after a brief introduction to the detector technique. ArgoNeuT is a 175 liter detector exposed to Fermilab's NuMI neutrino beamline. The first neut…
By exploiting structural differences between electromagnetic and hadronic showers in a multivariate analysis we present an efficient Electron-Hadron discrimination algorithm for liquid argon time projection chambers, validated using Geant4 simulated data.
MicroBooNE (the Micro Booster Neutrino Experiment) is a liquid argon time-projection chamber (TPC) experiment designed for short-baseline neutrino physics, currently running at Fermilab. It aims to address the anomalous excess of low-energy events observed by the MiniBooNE experiment. Recent progress towards the search for the low-energy events have brought to develop fully automated event selection algorithm to identify charged-current electron neutrino event candidates with no pions and at least one proton in the final state ($ν_e~\text{CC} 0π\text{N}p$) using the Pandora multi-algorithm pat…
The Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LArTPC) is increasingly becoming the chosen technology for current and future precision neutrino oscillation experiments due to its superior capability in particle tracking and energy calorimetry. In LArTPCs, calorimetric information is critical for particle identification, which is the foundation for the neutrino cross-section and oscillation measurements as well as searches for beyond standard model physics. One of the primary challenges in employing LArTPC technology is characterizing its performance and quantifying the associated systematic uncerta…
The dynamics of the positive ions created by particle interactions inside argon time projection chambers plays an important role in characterizing the next generation of massive detectors planned for the direct search for dark matter and the study of neutrino properties. We have constructed a 1 L liquid argon chamber (ARION: ARgon ION experiment) with a high voltage pulse generator capable of injecting, in a controlled manner, a sizeable ion current into the drift region. This chamber is capable of reproducing a volume charge similar to that found in large detectors, allowing its effects to be…
The low-noise operation of readout electronics in a liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) is critical to properly extract the distribution of ionization charge deposited on the wire planes of the TPC, especially for the induction planes. This paper describes the characteristics and mitigation of the observed noise in the MicroBooNE detector. The MicroBooNE's single-phase LArTPC comprises two induction planes and one collection sense wire plane with a total of 8256 wires. Current induced on each TPC wire is amplified and shaped by custom low-power, low-noise ASICs immersed in the liquid…
We report on the design and construction of a LED-based fiber calibration system for large liquid argon time projection detectors. This system was developed to calibrate the optical systems of the MicroBooNE experiment. As well as detailing the materials and installation procedure, we provide technical drawings and specifications so that the system may be easily replicated in future LArTPC detectors.
The net contribution of the strange quark spins to the proton spin, $Δs$, can be determined from neutral current elastic neutrino-proton interactions at low momentum transfer combined with data from electron-proton scattering. The probability of neutrino-proton interactions depends in part on the axial form factor, which represents the spin structure of the proton and can be separated into its quark flavor contributions. Low momentum transfer neutrino neutral current interactions can be measured in MicroBooNE, a high-resolution liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) in its first year of…
Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LAr TPC) detectors are ideally suited for studying neutrino interactions and probing the parameters that characterize neutrino oscillations. The ability to drift ionization particles over long distances in purified argon and to trigger on abundant scintillation light allows for excellent particle identification and triggering capability. Recent U.S. based work in the development of LAr TPC technology for massive kiloton size detectors will be discussed in this talk, including details of the ArgoNeuT (Argon Neutrino Test) test-beam project, which is a 175 l…
ArgoNeuT (Argon Neutrino Test), a NSF/DOE project at Fermilab, is the first LArTPC to go in a low energy neutrino beam and just the second LArTPC to go in a neutrino beam ever. ArgoNeuT sits just upstream of the on-axis MINOS near detector in the NuMI beamline, about 1 km from the target station and 100 m underground. The detector features a 47X40X90 cm (169 L) active volume TPC with a fully contained recirculation and purification system. Among other physics, ArgoNeuT will measure the charged-current quasi-elastic (anti-) neutrino cross section on argon at an energy of ~3 GeV.
MicroBooNE is a neutrino experiment based at Fermilab which consists of a liquid argon time-projection chamber in the Booster Neutrino Beam (BNB). The experiment aims to investigate the excess of electron-neutrino-like events seen by the MiniBooNE experiment, also located in the BNB, which is potential evidence for new non-Standard Model physics such as sterile neutrinos. I discuss the status of a search for low-energy electron-neutrino interactions within the MicroBooNE detector. This analysis features a hybrid approach of traditional reconstruction methods along with the use of convolutional…
The liquid argon time projection chamber provides high resolution event images and excellent calorimetric resolution for studying neutrino physics and searching for beyond standard model physics. In this article, we review the main physics processes that affect the detector response, including the electronics and field responses, space charge effects, electron attachment to impurities, diffusion and recombination. We describe methods to measure those effects, which are used to calibrate the detector response and convert the measured raw ADC counts to the original energy deposition.
Since the original detection of core-collapse supernova neutrinos in 1987, all large neutrino experiments seek to detect the neutrinos from the next nearby supernova. Among them, liquid argon time projection chambers (LArTPCs) offer a unique sensitivity to the electron neutrino flux of a supernova. However, the low energy of these events (scale of MeVs), and the fact that all large (multi-tonne) LArTPCs operating at the moment are located near the Earth's surface, and are therefore subject to an intense cosmic ray flux, makes triggering on the supernova neutrinos very challenging. Instead, Mic…
Large volume Liquid Argon Time Projection Chambers (LAr-TPC) are used and proposed for neutrino physics and rare event search. Most of these detectors make use of the scintillation light of liquid argon for trigger purposes. Two different approaches can be adopted to provide these detectors with an effective trigger system, relying upon analog or digital processing of signal coming from photodetectors, like photomultiplier tubes or silicon photomultipliers. Each method presents advantages and drawbacks, so the implementation of a hybrid solution can benefit from both approaches. To this purpos…
MeV-scale energy depositions by low-energy photons produced in neutrino-argon interactions have been identified and reconstructed in ArgoNeuT liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) data. ArgoNeuT data collected on the NuMI beam at Fermilab were analyzed to select isolated low-energy depositions in the TPC volume. The total number, reconstructed energies and positions of these depositions have been compared to those from simulations of neutrino-argon interactions using the FLUKA Monte Carlo generator. Measured features are consistent with energy depositions from photons produced by de-ex…
We report the results of the analyses of the cosmic ray data collected with a 4 tonne (3$\times$1$\times$1~m$^3$) active mass (volume) Liquid Argon Time-Projection Chamber (TPC) operated in a dual-phase mode. We present a detailed study of the TPC's response, its main detector parameters and performance. The results are important for the understanding and further developments of the dual-phase technology, thanks to the verification of key aspects, such as the extraction of electrons from liquid to gas and their amplification through the entire one square metre readout plain, gain stability, pu…
MicroBooNE is a liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) neutrino experiment that is currently running in the Booster Neutrino Beam at Fermilab. LArTPC technology allows for high-resolution, three-dimensional representations of neutrino interactions. A wide variety of software tools for automated reconstruction and selection of particle tracks in LArTPCs are actively being developed. Short, isolated proton tracks, the signal for low- momentum-transfer neutral current (NC) elastic events, are easily hidden in a large cosmic background. Detecting these low-energy tracks will allow us to pro…
In this paper we explore the potential improvements in neutrino event reconstruction that a 3D pixelated readout could offer over a 2D projective wire readout for liquid argon time projection chambers. We simulate and study events in two generic, idealized detector configurations for these two designs, classifying events in each sample with deep convolutional neural networks to compare the best 2D results to the best 3D results. In almost all cases we find that the 3D readout provides better reconstruction efficiency and purity than the 2D projective wire readout, with the advantages of 3D bei…
The amount and complexity of data recorded by high energy physics experiments are rapidly growing, and with these grow the difficulties in visualizing such data. To study the physics of neutrinos, a type of elementary particle, scientists use liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) detectors, among other technologies. LArTPCs have a very high spatial resolution and resolve many of the elementary particles that come out of a neutrino interacting within the argon in the detector. Visualizing these neutrino interactions is of fundamental importance to understanding the properties of neutrin…
Using truth-level Monte Carlo simulations of particle interactions in a large volume of liquid argon, we demonstrate physics capabilities enabled by reconstruction of topologically compact and isolated low-energy features, or `blips,' in large liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) events. These features are mostly produced by electron products of photon interactions depositing ionization energy. The blip identification capability of the LArTPC is enabled by its unique combination of size, position resolution precision, and low energy thresholds. We show that consideration of reconstruc…
MicroBooNE is an experiment designed to both probe neutrino physics phenomena and develop the LArTPC (Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber) detector technology. The MicroBooNE experiment, which began taking data this year, is the first large LArTPC detector in the U.S. This experiment is the beginning of a path of detectors (both on the surface and underground) envisioned for the U.S. SBL (Short-BaseLine) and LBL (Long-BaseLine) programs. In order to interpret the data from the experiments on the surface, the impact of space charge effects must be simulated and calibrated. The space charge eff…
The MicroBooNE continuous readout stream is a parallel readout of the MicroBooNE liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) which enables detection of non-beam events such as those from a supernova neutrino burst. The low energies of the supernova neutrinos and the intense cosmic-ray background flux due to the near-surface detector location makes triggering on these events very challenging. Instead, MicroBooNE relies on a delayed trigger generated by SNEWS (the Supernova Early Warning System) for detecting supernova neutrinos. The continuous readout of the LArTPC generates large data volume…
Liquid Argon Time Projection Chambers (LArTPCs) have been selected for the future long-baseline Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE). To allow LArTPCs to operate in the high-multiplicity near detector environment of DUNE, a new charge readout technology is required. Traditional charge readout technologies introduce intrinsic ambiguities, combined with a slow detector response, these ambiguities have limited the performance of LArTPCs, until now. Here, we present a novel pixelated charge readout that enables the full 3D tracking capabilities of LArTPCs. We characterise the signal to nois…
MicroBooNE is a near-surface liquid argon (LAr) time projection chamber (TPC) located at Fermilab. We measure the characterisation of muons originating from cosmic interactions in the atmosphere using both the charge collection and light readout detectors. The data is compared with the CORSIKA cosmic-ray simulation. Good agreement is found between the observation, simulation and previous results. Furthermore, the angular resolution of the reconstructed muons inside the TPC is studied in simulation.
Liquid Argon (LAr) is one of the most widely used scintillators in particle detection, due to its low cost, high availability and excellent scintillation properties. A large number of experiments in the neutrino sector are based around using LAr in one or more Time Projection Chambers (TPCs), leading to high resolution three-dimensional particle reconstruction. In this paper, we review and summarise a number of these Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LArTPC) experiments, and briefly describe the specific technologies that they currently employ. This includes single phase LAr experiments (I…
The detection of neutrinos from core-collapse supernovae may reveal important process features as well as neutrino properties. The detection of supernova neutrinos is one of the main science drivers for future kiloton-scale neutrino detectors based on liquid argon. Here we show that for such detectors the intrinsically 3D readout in Q-Pix offers numerous advantages relative to a wire-based readout, such as higher reconstruction efficiency, lower energy threshold, considerably lower data rates, and potential pointing information.
Liquid argon time projection chambers (LArTPCs) have been proposed as neutrino detectors that combine both large sizes to maximize the number of neutrino interactions and detailed recording of the interaction. The readout of thousands of channels at MHz sampling rates produce images of the neutrino-nucleus interaction with millimeter-scale resolution, enabling the identification of the resulting particles and offering multiple handles to measure their energies at the expense of large data rates. Continuous acquisition of the LArTPC data is required to enable the use of high-latency triggers fo…
The capabilities of liquid argon time projection chambers (LArTPCs) to reconstruct the spatial and calorimetric information of neutrino events have made them the detectors of choice in a number of experiments, specifically those looking to observe electron neutrino ($ν_e$) appearance. The LArTPC promises excellent background rejection capabilities, especially in this "golden" channel for both short and long baseline neutrino oscillation experiments. We present the first experimental observation of electron neutrinos and anti-neutrinos in the ArgoNeut LArTPC, in the energy range relevant to DUN…
The MicroBooNE liquid argon time projection chamber located at Fermilab is a neutrino experiment dedicated to the study of short-baseline oscillations, the measurements of neutrino cross sections in liquid argon, and to the research and development of this novel detector technology. Accurate and precise measurements of calorimetry are essential to the event reconstruction and are achieved by leveraging the TPC to measure deposited energy per unit length along the particle trajectory, with mm resolution. We describe the non-uniform calorimetric reconstruction performance in the detector, showin…
