Browsing by Subject "MINOS"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Electron neutrino and antineutrino appearance in the MINOS detector
    (2013-04) Schreckenberger, Adam Paul
    The Main Injector Neutrino Oscillation Search (MINOS) is a long-baseline neutrino experiment that utilizes a particle beam and two steel-scintillator calorimeters designed to determine the parameters associated with muon neutrino disappearance. Analysis methods developed by the MINOS νe group have facilitated the placement of limits upon the mixing angle associated with νμ → νe oscillations. Since the polarity of the focusing horns can be switched, we can perform a similar analysis with an antineutrino-enriched beam to select electron antineutrino appearance candidates. Using 3.34e20 POT (protons on target) in the antineutrino mode, we exclude θ13 = 0 at the 80% C.L. A joint fit of the 3.34e20 POT antineutrino and 10.6e20 POT neutrino samples excluded θ13 = 0 at the 96% C.L. In addition, the combined data were used to produce exclusions regarding the CP-violating phase.
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    A measurement of neutrino oscillation parameters using anti-fiducial charged current events in MINOS.
    (2010-09) Strait, Matthew Levy
    Abstract summary: Please see PDF abstract. Some mathematical characters/symbols cannot be copied.
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    Modeling the Effect of the Interplanetary Magnetic Field on Cosmic Ray Muon Shadows
    (2022-08) Skuza, Nicholas
    Cosmic ray (CR) muon shadows were located using muon data from the MINOS Far Detectorin Northern Minnesota. The shadows were located independently across 3 time periods; near solar minimum, solar maximum, and over the entire 13 year span of the data. A muon distribution for each shadow was then sampled to simulate CR motions near the Sun using the Parker Spiral model of the Sun’s IMF and a dipole model of the Earth’s GMF. The resulting particle distributions were then compared to their position with respect to the Sun. An analytical relationship between the primary CR cutoff energy E0 and the associated shadow deflections was observed. The minimum cutoff energy of the primary CR energy spectrum consistent with the Parker Spiral model was determined to be E0 = 22.8 ± 1.2 TeV. This value is 2-3 times higher than the experimentally determined value. Complexities that can be added to the Parker Spiral Model and affect the overall shift of the the Sun’s cosmic ray shadow are discussed to explain discrepancies. Results show that the Parker Spiral model is most consistent with the the solar minimum shadow and least consistent with the solar maximum shadow, as expected.
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    Studying neutrino oscillations using quasi-elastic events in MINOS.
    (2008-02) Kumaratunga, Sujeewa Terasita
    MINOS (Main Injector Neutrino Oscillation Search), is a long baseline neutrino experiment designed to search for neutrino oscillations using two detectors at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, IL (Near Detector) and Soudan, MN (Far Detector). It will study ν μ [arrow right] ν τ oscillations and make a measurement on the oscillation parameters, [Special characters omitted.] and [Special characters omitted.] , via a ν μ beam made at Fermilab. Charge current neutrino interactions in the MINOS detectors are of three types: quasi-elastic scattering (QEL), resonance scattering (RES) and deep inelastic scattering (DIS). Of these, quasi-elastic scattering leaves the cleanest signal with just one μ and one proton in the final state, thus rendering the reconstruction of the neutrino energy more accurate. This thesis will outline a method to separate QEL events from the others in the two detectors and perform a calculation of [Special characters omitted.] and [Special characters omitted.] using those events. The period under consideration was May 2005 to February 2006. The number of observed quasi-elastic events with energies below 10 GeV was 29, where the expected number was 60 ± 3. A fit to the energy distributions of these events gives [Special characters omitted.] and [Special characters omitted.] .