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 T2K Collaboration reports evidence for electron neutrino appearance at the atmospheric mass splitting, vertical bar Delta m(32)(2)vertical bar approximate to 2.4 X 10(-3) eV(2). An excess of electron neutrino interactions over background is observed from a muon neutrino beam with a peak energy of 0.6 GeV at the Super-Kamiokande (SK) detector 295 km from the beam's origin. Signal and background predictions are constrained by data from near detectors located 280 m from the neutrino production target. We observe 11 electron neutrino candidate events at the SK detector when a background of 3.3 +/- 0.4(syst) events is expected. The background-only hypothesis is rejected with a p value of 0.0009 (3.1 sigma), and a fit assuming nu(mu) -> nu(e) oscillations with sin (2)2 theta(23) = 1, delta(CP) = 0 and vertical bar Delta m(32)(2)vertical bar = 2.4 X 10(-3) eV(2) yields sin (2)2 theta(13) = 0.088(-0.039)(+0.049)(stat + syst).

Abstract: The T2K experiment has observed electron neutrino appearance in a muon neutrino beam produced 295 km from the Super-Kamiokande detector with a peak energy of 0.6 GeV. A total of 28 electron neutrino events were detected with an energy distribution consistent with an appearance signal, corresponding to a significance of 7.3 sigma when compared to 4.92 +/- 0.55 expected background events. In the Pontecorvo-Maki-Nakagawa-Sakata mixing model, the electron neutrino appearance signal depends on several parameters including three mixing angles theta(12), theta(23), theta(13), a mass difference vertical bar Delta m(32)(2)vertical bar and a CP violating phase delta(CP). In this neutrino oscillation scenario, assuming vertical bar Delta m(32)(2)vertical bar = 2.4 x 10(-3) eV(2), sin theta(2)(23) = 0.5, and vertical bar Delta m(32)(2)vertical bar > 0 (vertical bar Delta m(32)(2)vertical bar < 0), a best- fit value of sin2 theta(2)(13) = 0.140(- 0.032)(+0.038) (0.170(-0.037)(+0.045)) is obtained at delta(CP) = 0. When combining the result with the current best knowledge of oscillation parameters including the world average value of theta(13) from reactor experiments, some values of delta(CP) are disfavored at the 90% C. L.