Document Type
Article
Department/Program
Physics
Journal Title
Physical Review Letters
Pub Date
2016
Volume
117
Issue
11
Abstract
The MINERvA experiment observes an excess of events containing electromagnetic showers relative to the expectation from Monte Carlo simulations in neutral-current neutrino interactions with mean beam energy of 4.5 GeV on a hydrocarbon target. The excess is characterized and found to be consistent with neutral-current pi(0) production with a broad energy distribution peaking at 7 GeV and a total cross section of 0.26 +/- 0.02(stat.) +/- 0.08(sys.) x 10(-39) cm(2). The angular distribution, electromagnetic shower energy, and spatial distribution of the energy depositions of the excess are consistent with expectations from neutrino neutral-current diffractive pi(0) production from hydrogen in the hydrocarbon target. These data comprise the first direct experimental observation and constraint for a reaction that poses an important background process in neutrino-oscillation experiments searching for nu(mu) to nu(e) oscillations.
Recommended Citation
Wolcott, J.; Bercellie, A.; Bodek, A.; Aliaga, L.; Devan, J.; Kordosky, M.; Nelson, J. K.; Norrick, A.; and Zhang, D., Evidence for Neutral-Current Diffractive pi(0) Production from Hydrogen in Neutrino Interactions on Hydrocarbon (2016). Physical Review Letters, 117(11).
https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.111801
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.111801
