Measurement of single π^0 production by coherent neutral-current ν Fe interactions in the MINOS Near Detector

Abstract

Forward single π^0 production by coherent neutral-current interactions, νA→νAπ^0, is investigated using a 2.8×10^(20) protons-on-target exposure of the MINOS Near Detector. For single-shower topologies, the event distribution in production angle exhibits a clear excess above the estimated background at very forward angles for visible energy in the range 1–8 GeV. Cross sections are obtained for the detector medium comprised of 80% iron and 20% carbon nuclei with ⟨A⟩=48, the highest-⟨A⟩ target used to date in the study of this coherent reaction. The total cross section for coherent neutral-current single π^0 production initiated by the ν_μ flux of the NuMI low-energy beam with mean (mode) E_ν of 4.9 GeV (3.0 GeV), is 77.6±5.0(stat)^(+15.0)_(−16.8)(syst)×10^(−40)  cm^2 pernucleus. The results are in good agreement with predictions of the Berger-Sehgal model.

Additional Information

© 2016 American Physical Society. Received 22 August 2016; published 26 October 2016. This work was supported by the United States Department of Energy; the United Kingdom Science and Technology Facilities Council; the United States National Science Foundation; the State and University of Minnesota; the University of Athens, Greece; and Brazil's Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, and Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior Paulo. We gratefully acknowledge the staff of Fermilab for invaluable contributions to the research reported here.

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Submitted - 1608.05702v3.pdf

Published - PhysRevD.94.072006.pdf

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