|
|
Abgrall, N. et al, Cervera-Villanueva, A., Escudero, L., Monfregola, L., & Stamoulis, P. (2011). Time projection chambers for the T2K near detectors. Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. A, 637(1), 25–46.
Abstract: 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 data collected with the tracker are used to study charged current neutrino interaction rates and kinematics prior to oscillation, in order to reduce uncertainties in the oscillation measurements by the far detector. The tracker is surrounded by the former UA1/NOMAD dipole magnet and the TPCs measure the charges, momenta, and particle types of charged particles passing through them. Novel features of the TPC design include its rectangular box layout constructed from composite panels, the use of bulk micromegas detectors for gas amplification, electronics readout based on a new ASIC, and a photoelectron calibration system. This paper describes the design and construction of the TPCs, the micromegas modules, the readout electronics, the gas handling system, and shows the performance of the TPCs as deduced from measurements with particle beams, cosmic rays, and the calibration system.
|
|
|
|
Adey, D. et al, Cervera-Villanueva, A., Donini, A., Ghosh, T., Gomez-Cadenas, J. J., Hernandez, P., et al. (2014). Light sterile neutrino sensitivity at the nuSTORM facility. Phys. Rev. D, 89(7), 071301–7pp.
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.
|
|
|
|
Andreotti, M. et al, Cervera-Villanueva, A., Garcia-Peris, M. a., Martin-Albo, J., Querol, M., Rocabado, J., et al. (2024). Cryogenic characterization of Hamamatsu HWB MPPCs for the DUNE photon detection system. J. Instrum., 19(1), T01007–27pp.
Abstract: The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) is a next generation experiment aimed to study neutrino oscillation. Its long-baseline configuration will exploit a Near Detector (ND) and a Far Detector (FD) located at a distance of similar to 1300 km. The FD will consist of four Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LAr TPC) modules. A Photon Detection System (PDS) will be used to detect the scintillation light produced inside the detector after neutrino interactions. The PDS will be based on light collectors coupled to Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs). Different photosensor technologies have been proposed and produced in order to identify the best samples to fullfill the experiment requirements. In this paper, we present the procedure and results of a validation campaign for the Hole Wire Bonding (HWB) MPPCs samples produced by Hamamatsu Photonics K.K. (HPK) for the DUNE experiment, referring to them as 'SiPMs'. The protocol for a characterization at cryogenic temperature (77 K) is reported. We present the down-selection criteria and the results obtained during the selection campaign undertaken, along with a study of the main sources of noise of the SiPMs including the investigation of a newly observed phenomenon in this field.
Keywords: Cryogenic detectors; Photon detectors for UV, visible and IR photons (solid-state); Photon detectors for UV, visible and IR photons (solid-state) (PIN diodes, APDs, Si-PMTs, G-APDs, CCDs, EBCCDs, EMCCDs, CMOS imagers, etc)
|
|
|
|
Bayes, R., Laing, A., Soler, F. J. P., Cervera-Villanueva, A., Gomez-Cadenas, J. J., Hernandez, P., et al. (2012). Golden channel at a neutrino factory revisited: Improved sensitivities from a magnetized iron neutrino detector. Phys. Rev. D, 86(9), 093015–27pp.
Abstract: This paper describes the performance and sensitivity to neutrino mixing parameters of a Magnetised Iron Neutrino Detector at a Neutrino Factory with a neutrino beam created from the decay of 10 GeV muons. Specifically, it is concerned with the ability of such a detector to detect muons of the opposite sign to those stored (wrong-sign muons) while suppressing contamination of the signal from the interactions of other neutrino species in the beam. A new, more realistic simulation and analysis, which improves the efficiency of this detector at low energies, has been developed using the GENIE neutrino event generator and the GEANT4 simulation toolkit. Low-energy neutrino events down to 1 GeV were selected, while reducing backgrounds to the 10(-4) level. Signal efficiency plateaus of similar to 60% for nu(mu) and similar to 70% for (nu) over bar (mu) events were achieved starting at similar to 5 GeV. Contamination from the nu(mu) -> nu(tau) oscillation channel was studied for the first time and was found to be at the level between 1% and 4%. Full response matrices are supplied for all the signal and background channels from 1 GeV to 10 GeV. The sensitivity of an experiment involving a Magnetised Iron Neutrino Detector detector of 100 ktons at 2000 km from the Neutrino Factory is calculated for the case of sin(2)2 theta(13) similar to 10(-1). For this value of theta(13), the accuracy in the measurement of the CP-violating phase is estimated to be Delta delta(CP) similar to 3 degrees-5 degrees, depending on the value of delta(CP), the CP coverage at 5 sigma is 85% and the mass hierarchy would be determined with better than 5 sigma level for all values of delta(CP).
|
|
|
|
Bross, A., Wands, R., Bayes, R., Laing, A., Soler, F. J. P., Cervera-Villanueva, A., et al. (2013). Toroidal magnetized iron neutrino detector for a neutrino factory. Phys. Rev. Spec. Top.-Accel. Beams, 16(8), 081002–16pp.
Abstract: A neutrino factory has unparalleled physics reach for the discovery and measurement of CP violation in the neutrino sector. A far detector for a neutrino factory must have good charge identification with excellent background rejection and a large mass. An elegant solution is to construct a magnetized iron neutrino detector (MIND) along the lines of MINOS, where iron plates provide a toroidal magnetic field and scintillator planes provide 3D space points. In this paper, the current status of a simulation of a toroidal MIND for a neutrino factory is discussed in light of the recent measurements of large theta(13). The response and performance using the 10 GeV neutrino factory configuration are presented. It is shown that this setup has equivalent delta(CP) reach to a MIND with a dipole field and is sensitive to the discovery of CP violation over 85% of the values of delta(CP).
|
|
