Abstract: T2K reports its first measurements of the parameters governing the disappearance of (nu) over bar μin an off-axis beam due to flavor change induced by neutrino oscillations. The quasimonochromatic (nu) over bar μbeam, produced with a peak energy of 0.6 GeVat J-PARC, is observed at the far detector Super-Kamiokande, 295 km away, where the (nu) over bar μsurvival probability is expected to be minimal. Using a data set corresponding to 4.01 x 10(20) protons on target, 34 fully contained mu-like events were observed. The best-fit oscillation parameters are sin(2) ((theta) over bar (23)) = 0.45 and vertical bar Delta(m) over bar (2)(32)vertical bar = 2.51 x 10(-3) eV(2) with 68% confidence intervals of 0.38-0.64 and 2.26-2.80 x 10(-3) eV(2), respectively. These results are in agreement with existing antineutrino parameter measurements and also with the nu(mu) disappearance parameters measured by T2K.

Abstract: The single pi(0) production rate in neutral current neutrino interactions on water in a neutrino beam with a peak neutrino energy of 0.6 GeV has been measured using the empty set, one of the subdetectors of the T2K near detector. The production rate was measured for data taking periods when the Pempty setD contained water (2.64 x 10(20) protons-on-target) and also periods without water (3.49 x 10(20) protons-on-target). A measurement of the neutral current single pi(0) production rate on water is made using appropriate subtraction of the production rate with water in from the rate with water out of the target region. The subtraction analysis yields 106 +/- 41 +/- 69 signal events where the uncertainties are statistical (stat.) and systematic (sys.) respectively. This is consistent with the prediction of 157 events from the nominal simulation. The measured to expected ratio is 0.68 +/- 0.26(stat) +/- 0.44(sys) +/- 0.12(flux). The nominal simulation uses a flux integrated cross section of 7.63 x 10(-39) cm(2) per nucleon with an average neutrino interaction energy of 1.3 GeV.

Abstract: A facility that can deliver beams of electron and muon neutrinos from the decay of a stored muon beam has the potential to unambiguously resolve the issue of the evidence for light sterile neutrinos that arises in short-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments and from estimates of the effective number of neutrino flavors from fits to cosmological data. In this paper, we show that the nuSTORM facility, with stored muons of 3.8 GeV/c +/- 10%, will be able to carry out a conclusive muon neutrino appearance search for sterile neutrinos and test the LSND and MiniBooNE experimental signals with 10 sigma sensitivity, even assuming conservative estimates for the systematic uncertainties. This experiment would add greatly to our knowledge of the contribution of light sterile neutrinos to the number of effective neutrino flavors from the abundance of primordial helium production and from constraints on neutrino energy density from the cosmic microwave background. The appearance search is complemented by a simultaneous muon neutrino disappearance analysis that will facilitate tests of various sterile neutrino models.

Abstract: The Tokai-to-Kamioka (T2K) experiment studies neutrino oscillations using an off-axismuon neutrino beam with a peak energy of about 0.6 GeV that originates at the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex accelerator facility. Interactions of the neutrinos are observed at near detectors placed at 280 m from the production target and at the far detector-Super-Kamiokande-located 295 km away. The flux prediction is an essential part of the successful prediction of neutrino interaction rates at the T2K detectors and is an important input to T2K neutrino oscillation and cross section measurements. A FLUKA and GEANT3-based simulation models the physical processes involved in the neutrino production, from the interaction of primary beam protons in the T2K target, to the decay of hadrons and muons that produce neutrinos. The simulation uses proton beam monitor measurements as inputs. The modeling of hadronic interactions is reweighted using thin target hadron production data, including recent charged pion and kaon measurements from the NA61/SHINE experiment. For the first T2K analyses the uncertainties on the flux prediction are evaluated to be below 15% near the flux peak. The uncertainty on the ratio of the flux predictions at the far and near detectors is less than 2% near the flux peak.

Abstract: The observation of the recent electron neutrino appearance in a muon neutrino beam and the high-precision measurement of the mixing angle theta(13) have led to a re-evaluation of the physics potential of the T2K long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment. Sensitivities are explored for CP violation in neutrinos, non-maximal sin(2) 2 theta(23), the octant of theta(23), and the mass hierarchy, in addition to the measurements of delta CP, sin(2) theta(23), and Delta m(32)(2), for various combinations of nu-mode and (nu) over bar -mode data-taking. With an exposure of 7.8 x 10(21) protons-on-target, T2K can achieve 1 sigma resolution of 0.050 (0.054) on sin(2) theta(23) and 0.040 (0.045) x 10(-3) eV(2) on Delta m(32)(2) for 100% (50%) neutrino beam mode running assuming sin(2) theta(23) = 0.5 and Delta m(32)(2) = 2.4 x 10(-3) eV(2). T2K will have sensitivity to the CP-violating phase delta(CP) at 90% C.L. or better over a significant range. For example, if sin(2) 2 theta(23) is maximal (i.e.theta(23) = 45 degrees) the range is -115 degrees < delta(CP) < -60 degrees for normal hierarchy and +50 degrees < delta(CP) < + 130 degrees for inverted hierarchy. When T2K data is combined with data from the NO nu A experiment, the region of oscillation parameter space where there is sensitivity to observe a non-zero delta CP is substantially increased compared to if each experiment is analyzed alone.