Measuring $\theta_$ Via Muon Neutrino to Electron Neutrino Oscillations in the MINOS Experiment

Measuring $\theta_$ Via Muon Neutrino to Electron Neutrino Oscillations in the MINOS Experiment PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 238

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Book Description
One of the primary goals in neutrino physics at the present moment is to make a measurement of the neutrino oscillation parameter $\theta_$. This parameter, in addition to being unknown, could potentially allow for the introduction of CP violation into the lepton sector. The MINOS long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment has the ability to make a measurement of this parameter, by looking for the oscillation of muon neutrinos to electron neutrinos between a Near and Far Detector over a distance of 735 km. This thesis discusses the development of an analysis framework to search for this oscillation mode. Two major improvements to pre-existing analysis techniques have been implemented by the author. First, a novel particle ID technique based on strip topology, known as the Library Event Matching (LEM) method, is optimized for use in MINOS. Second, a multiple bin likelihood method is developed to fit the data. These two improvements, when combined, increase MINOS' sensitivity to $\sin^2(2\theta_)$ by 27\% over previous analyses. This thesis sees a small excess over background in the Far Detector. A Frequentist interpretation of the data rules out $\theta_=0$ at 91\%. A Bayesian interpretation of the data is also presented, placing the most stringent upper boundary on the oscillation parameter to date, at $\sin^2(2\theta_)

Measuring $\theta_$ Via Muon Neutrino to Electron Neutrino Oscillations in the MINOS Experiment

Measuring $\theta_$ Via Muon Neutrino to Electron Neutrino Oscillations in the MINOS Experiment PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 238

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Book Description
One of the primary goals in neutrino physics at the present moment is to make a measurement of the neutrino oscillation parameter $\theta_$. This parameter, in addition to being unknown, could potentially allow for the introduction of CP violation into the lepton sector. The MINOS long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment has the ability to make a measurement of this parameter, by looking for the oscillation of muon neutrinos to electron neutrinos between a Near and Far Detector over a distance of 735 km. This thesis discusses the development of an analysis framework to search for this oscillation mode. Two major improvements to pre-existing analysis techniques have been implemented by the author. First, a novel particle ID technique based on strip topology, known as the Library Event Matching (LEM) method, is optimized for use in MINOS. Second, a multiple bin likelihood method is developed to fit the data. These two improvements, when combined, increase MINOS' sensitivity to $\sin^2(2\theta_)$ by 27\% over previous analyses. This thesis sees a small excess over background in the Far Detector. A Frequentist interpretation of the data rules out $\theta_=0$ at 91\%. A Bayesian interpretation of the data is also presented, placing the most stringent upper boundary on the oscillation parameter to date, at $\sin^2(2\theta_)

Measuring Θ13 Via Muon Neutrino to Electron Neutrino Oscillations in the MINOS Experiment

Measuring Θ13 Via Muon Neutrino to Electron Neutrino Oscillations in the MINOS Experiment PDF Author: Ruth Bushnell Toner
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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A Measurement of Neutrino Oscillations with Muon Neutrinos in the MINOS Experiment

A Measurement of Neutrino Oscillations with Muon Neutrinos in the MINOS Experiment PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 258

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Book Description
Experimental evidence has established that neutrino flavor states evolve over time. A neutrino of a particular flavor that travels some distance can be detected in a different neutrino flavor state. The Main Injector Neutrino Oscillation Search (MINOS) is a long-baseline experiment that is designed to study this phenomenon, called neutrino oscillations. MINOS is based at Fermilab near Chicago, IL, and consists of two detectors: the Near Detector located at Fermilab, and the Far Detector, which is located in an old iron mine in Soudan, MN. Both detectors are exposed to a beam of muon neutrinos from the NuMI beamline, and MINOS measures the fraction of muon neutrinos that disappear after traveling the 734 km between the two detectors. One can measure the atmospheric neutrino mass splitting and mixing angle by observing the energy-dependence of this muon neutrino disappearance. MINOS has made several prior measurements of these parameters. Here I describe recently-developed techniques used to enhance our sensitivity to the oscillation parameters, and I present the results obtained when they are applied to a dataset that is twice as large as has been previously analyzed. We measure the mass splitting ?m232 = (2.32-0.08+0.12) x 10-3 eV2/c4 and the mixing angle sin2(2?32) > 0.90 at 90% C.L. These results comprise the world's best measurement of the atmospheric neutrino mass splitting. Alternative disappearance models are also tested. The neutrino decay hypothesis is disfavored at 7.2? and the neutrino quantum decoherence hypothesis is disfavored at 9.0?.

A Study of Muon Neutrino to Electron Neutrino Oscillations in the MINOS Experiment

A Study of Muon Neutrino to Electron Neutrino Oscillations in the MINOS Experiment PDF Author: Tingjun Yang
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 271

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A Measurement of Neutrino Oscillations with Muon Neutrinos in the Minos Experiment

A Measurement of Neutrino Oscillations with Muon Neutrinos in the Minos Experiment PDF Author: Stephen James Coleman
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Leptons (Nuclear physics)
Languages : en
Pages : 484

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A Search for Muon Neutrino to Electron Neutrino Oscillations in the MINOS Experiment

A Search for Muon Neutrino to Electron Neutrino Oscillations in the MINOS Experiment PDF Author: Juan Pedro Ochoa-Ricoux
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1441979492
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 300

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Book Description
The centerpiece of the thesis is the search for muon neutrino to electron neutrino oscillations which would indicate a non-zero mixing angle between the first and third neutrino generations (θ13), currently the “holy grail” of neutrino physics. The optimal extraction of the electron neutrino oscillation signal is based on the novel “library event matching” (LEM) method which Ochoa developed and implemented together with colleagues at Caltech and at Cambridge, which improves MINOS’ (Main Injector Neutrino Oscillator Search) reach for establishing an oscillation signal over any other method. LEM will now be the basis for MINOS’ final results, and will likely keep MINOS at the forefront of this field until it completes its data taking in 2011. Ochoa and his colleagues also developed the successful plan to run MINOS with a beam tuned for antineutrinos, to make a sensitive test of CPT symmetry by comparing the inter-generational mass splitting for neutrinos and antineutrinos. Ochoa’s in-depth, creative approach to the solution of a variety of complex experimental problems is an outstanding example for graduate students and longtime practitioners of experimental physics alike. Some of the most exciting results in this field to emerge in the near future may find their foundations in this thesis.

New Results for Muon Neutrino to Electron Neutrino Oscillations in the MINOS Experiment

New Results for Muon Neutrino to Electron Neutrino Oscillations in the MINOS Experiment PDF Author:
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ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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A Study of Muon Neutrino to Electron Neutrino Oscillations in the MINOS Experiment

A Study of Muon Neutrino to Electron Neutrino Oscillations in the MINOS Experiment PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 303

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Book Description
The observation of neutrino oscillations (neutrino changing from one flavor to another) has provided compelling evidence that the neutrinos have non-zero masses and that leptons mix, which is not part of the original Standard Model of particle physics. The theoretical framework that describes neutrino oscillation involves two mass scales ([Delta]matm2 and [Delta]msol2), three mixing angles ([theta]12, [theta]23, and [theta]13) and one CP violating phase ([delta]CP). Both mass scales and two of the mixing angles ([theta]12 and [theta]23) have been measured by many neutrino experiments. The mixing angle [theta]13, which is believed to be very small, remains unknown. The current best limit on [theta]13 comes from the CHOOZ experiment: [theta]13

A Search for Muon Neutrino to Electron Neutrino Oscillations in the MINOS Experiment

A Search for Muon Neutrino to Electron Neutrino Oscillations in the MINOS Experiment PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 386

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Book Description
We perform a search for v[mu] → ve oscillations, a process which would manifest a nonzero value of the [theta]13 mixing angle, in the MINOS long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment. The analysis consists of searching for an excess of ve charged-current candidate events over the predicted backgrounds, made mostly of neutral-current events with high electromagnetic content. A novel technique to select electron neutrino events is developed, which achieves an improved separation between the signal and the backgrounds, and which consequently yields a better reach in [theta]13. The backgrounds are predicted in the Far Detector from Near Detector measurements. An excess is observed in the Far Detector data over the predicted backgrounds, which is consistent with the background-only hypothesis at 1.2 standard deviations.

Latest Results from the MINOS Experiment

Latest Results from the MINOS Experiment PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 4

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Book Description
The MINOS experiment utilizes the NuMI neutrino beam to study the phenomenon of neutrino oscillations. Muon neutrinos are sent over a baseline of 735 km, with a detector near the production point at Fermilab and one at the Soudan underground laboratory in northern Minnesota. By observing the?{sub {mu}} disappearance characteristic of oscillations, MINOS can measure the oscillation parameters. MINOS has previously made the best measurement of the atmospheric-regime mass splitting to date. New results are presented in which the data-set is doubled. Further analysis improvements, and the inclusion of additional event samples, further improve the sensitivity to the oscillation parameters. The mixing angle?13 is currently not measured to differ from zero. By searching for?{sub e} appearance in the?{sub {mu}} beam, MINOS is able to set new limits on the value of?13. An observation of the neutral current interaction rate at the far detector allows limits to be placed on the existence of sterile neutrinos. From September 2009 to March 2010, MINOS has taken data with a dedicated {bar {nu}}{sub {mu}} beam, allowing the first direct precision measurement of the antineutrino oscillation parameters in the atmospheric regime.