New Insights into Muon-Neutrino Interactions on Argon from MicroBooNE

Researchers from the MicroBooNE Collaboration have conducted a significant measurement of the differential cross section for inclusive muon-neutrino charged-current scattering on argon. This research utilized data from 6.4 × 10²⁰ protons on target, collected using the MicroBooNE liquid argon time projection chamber located along the Fermilab Booster Neutrino Beam. The mean neutrino energy during the experiment was approximately 0.8 GeV.

The study focused on the mapping from reconstructed kinematics to true quantities, particularly the transition from reconstructed to true neutrino energy. This was validated by comparing the distribution of reconstructed hadronic energy in the data to model predictions across different muon scattering angle bins, applying a conditional constraint from the muon momentum distribution in the data.

The validation of this mapping provides confidence that the missing energy in the MicroBooNE detector is accurately modeled within uncertainties in simulation. This enables the unfolding of a three-dimensional measurement across muon momentum, muon scattering angle, and neutrino energy. The resulting measurement covers a broad phase space, offering valuable information for future experiments utilizing liquid argon time projection chambers to study neutrino oscillations.

Additionally, the research includes comparisons against several commonly used model predictions, discussing their performance in various parts of the available phase space. This work is expected to enhance the understanding of neutrino interactions and contribute to advancements in neutrino physics.

The findings are detailed in the paper titled "Measurement of three-dimensional inclusive muon-neutrino charged-current cross sections on argon with the MicroBooNE detector" by P. Abratenko et al., available on arXiv: arXiv:2307.06413.