0000000000235269
AUTHOR
A. Sarrat
Evidence for Muon Neutrino Oscillation in an Accelerator-Based Experiment
We present results for muon neutrino oscillation in the KEK to Kamioka (K2K) long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment. K2K uses an accelerator-produced muon neutrino beam with a mean energy of 1.3 GeV directed at the Super-Kamiokande detector. We observed the energy dependent disappearance of muon neutrino, which we presume have oscillated to tau neutrino. The probability that we would observe these results if there is no neutrino oscillation is 0.0050% (4.0 sigma).
Measurements of the T2K neutrino beam properties using the INGRID on-axis near detector
Precise measurement of neutrino beam direction and intensity was achieved based on a new concept with modularized neutrino detectors. INGRID (Interactive Neutrino GRID) is an on-axis near detector for the T2K long baseline neutrino oscillation experiment. INGRID consists of 16 identical modules arranged in horizontal and vertical arrays around the beam center. The module has a sandwich structure of iron target plates and scintillator trackers. INGRID directly monitors the muon neutrino beam profile center and intensity using the number of observed neutrino events in each module. The neutrino beam direction is measured with accuracy better than 0.4 mrad from the measured profile center. The …
Large bulk Micromegas detectors for TPC applications
A large volume TPC will be used in the near future in a variety of experiments including T2K. The bulk Micromegas detector for this TPC is built using a novel production technique particularly suited for compact, thin and robust low mass detectors. The capability to pave a large Surface with a simple mounting Solution and small dead space is of particular interest for these applications. We have built several large bulk Micromegas detectors (36 x 34 cm(2)) and we have tested one in the former HARP field cage with a magnetic field. Prototypes cards of the T2K front end electronics, based on the AFTER ASIC chip, have been used in this TPC test for the first time. Cosmic ray data have been acq…
Measurement of neutrino oscillation by the K2K experiment
We present measurements of nu_mu disappearance in K2K, the KEK to Kamioka long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment. One hundred and twelve beam-originated neutrino events are observed in the fiducial volume of Super-Kamiokande with an expectation of 158.1^{+9.2}_{-8.6} events without oscillation. A distortion of the energy spectrum is also seen in 58 single-ring muon-like events with reconstructed energies. The probability that the observations are explained by the expectation for no neutrino oscillation is 0.0015% (4.3sigma). In a two flavor oscillation scenario, the allowed Delta m^2 region at sin^2(2theta) is between 1.9 and 3.5 x 10^{-3} eV^2 at the 90% C.L. with a best-fit value o…
Indication of electron neutrino appearance from an accelerator-produced off-axis muon neutrino beam
The T2K experiment observes indications of $\nu_\mu\rightarrow \nu_e$ appearance in data accumulated with $1.43\times10^{20}$ protons on target. Six events pass all selection criteria at the far detector. In a three-flavor neutrino oscillation scenario with $|\Delta m_{23}^2|=2.4\times10^{-3}$ eV$^2$, $\sin^2 2\theta_{23}=1$ and $\sin^2 2\theta_{13}=0$, the expected number of such events is 1.5$\pm$0.3(syst.). Under this hypothesis, the probability to observe six or more candidate events is 7$\times10^{-3}$, equivalent to 2.5$\sigma$ significance. At 90% C.L., the data are consistent with 0.03(0.04)$<\sin^2 2\theta_{13}<$ 0.28(0.34) for $\delta_{\rm CP}=0$ and a normal (inverted) hierarchy.
First Muon-Neutrino Disappearance Study with an Off-Axis Beam
We report a measurement of muon-neutrino disappearance in the T2K experiment. The 295-km muon-neutrino beam from Tokai to Kamioka is the first implementation of the off-axis technique in a long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment. With data corresponding to 1.43 × 10(20) protons on target, we observe 31 fully-contained single μ-like ring events in Super-Kamiokande, compared with an expectation of 104 ± 14(syst) events without neutrino oscillations. The best-fit point for two-flavor νμ → ντ oscillations is sin 2(2θ(23)) = 0.98 and |Δm(2)(32)| = 2.65 × 10(−3) eV2. The boundary of the 90% confidence region includes the points (sin2 (2θ(23)), |Δm(2)(32)|) = (1.0, 3.1 × 10(−3) eV2), (0.84, …
Bulk micromegas detectors for large TPC applications
A large volume TPC will be used in the near future in a variety of experiments including T2K. The bulk Micromegas detector for this TPC is built using a novel production technique particularly suited for compact and robust low mass detectors. The capability to pave a large surface with a simple mounting solution and small dead space between modules is of particular interest for these applications. We have buil t several large bulk Micromegas detectors (27x26 cm 2 ) and we have tested them in the former HARP field cage setup wit h a magnetic field. Cosmic ray data have been acquired in a variet y of experimental conditions. Good detector performances and space point resolution have been achi…
Search for coherent charged pion production in neutrino-carbon interactions
We report the result from a search for charged-current coherent pion production induced by muon neutrinos with a mean energy of 1.3 GeV. The data are collected with a fully active scintillator detector in the K2K long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment. No evidence for coherent pion production is observed and an upper limit of $0.60 \times 10^{-2}$ is set on the cross section ratio of coherent pion production to the total charged-current interaction at 90% confidence level. This is the first experimental limit for coherent charged pion production in the energy region of a few GeV.
Time projection chambers for the T2K near detectors
The T2K experiment is designed to study neutrino oscillation properties by directing a high intensity neutrino beam produced at J-PARC in Tokai, Japan, towards the large Super-Kamiokande detector located 295 km away, in Kamioka, Japan. The experiment includes a sophisticated near detector complex, 280 m downstream of the neutrino production target in order to measure the properties of the neutrino beam and to better understand neutrino interactions at the energy scale below a few GeV. A key element of the near detectors is the ND280 tracker, consisting of two active scintillator–bar target systems surrounded by three large time projection chambers (TPCs) for charged particle tracking. The d…
The T2K Experiment
The T2K experiment is a long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment. Its main goal is to measure the last unknown lepton sector mixing angle {\theta}_{13} by observing {\nu}_e appearance in a {\nu}_{\mu} beam. It also aims to make a precision measurement of the known oscillation parameters, {\Delta}m^{2}_{23} and sin^{2} 2{\theta}_{23}, via {\nu}_{\mu} disappearance studies. Other goals of the experiment include various neutrino cross section measurements and sterile neutrino searches. The experiment uses an intense proton beam generated by the J-PARC accelerator in Tokai, Japan, and is composed of a neutrino beamline, a near detector complex (ND280), and a far detector (Super-Kamiokande)…