Neutrinos are one of the particles of Standard Model of Particle Physics that we know the least. It is believed that a better understanding of these particles could help answer open questions in particle physics, such as why we live in a matter-dominated universe. Because neutrinos are neutral particles, they are not directly detectable by all existing neutrino experiments. For this reason, any neutrino study relies on detecting the daughter particles from neutrino interactions inside the detectors. Therefore, a good understanding of how neutrinos interact, also known as their cross section, is crucial. The MicroBooNE experiment is a Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber detector located at Fermilab that aims to study neutrinos and their properties. The work presented in this thesis describes the procedure to extract the first individual electron neutrino cross section on argon using the NuMI beam, and the first ever electron-antineutrino cross section on argon. The analysis uses data collected during the NuMI Run 1, corresponding to 2.01e21 protons on target. Using a template fit a normalised cross section on argon of [7.91 +- 1.31 (stat) +- 1.77 (sys)]e-39 cm2/nucleon for electron neutrino and [2.40 +- 1.39 (stat) +- 1.36 (sys)]e-39 cm2/nucleon for electron antineutrino, for an average electron neutrino energy of 1195 MeV and electron antineutrino energy of 1550 MeV is measured.
First Combined Measurement of the Electron-Neutrino and Electron-Antineutrino Individual Cross Sections on Argon Using the MicroBooNE Detector
Reggiani Guzzo, M. (Author). 1 Aug 2024
Student thesis: Phd