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The MINOS Experiment consists of two steel-scintillator calorimeters, sampling the long baseline NuMI muon neutrino beam. It was designed to make a precise measurement of the 'atmospheric' neutrino mixing parameters, [Delta]m2 atm. and sin2 (2 atm.). The Near Detector measures the initial spectrum of the neutrino beam 1km from the production target, and the Far Detector, at a distance of 735 km, measures the impact of oscillations in the neutrino energy spectrum. Work performed to validate the quality of the data collected by the Near Detector is presented as part of this thesis. This thesis primarily details the results of a v[mu] disappearance analysis, and presents a new sophisticated fitting software framework, which employs a maximum likelihood method to extract the best fit oscillation parameters. The software is entirely decoupled from the extrapolation procedure between the detectors, and is capable of fitting multiple event samples (defined by the selections applied) in parallel, and any combination of energy dependent and independent sources of systematic error. Two techniques to improve the sensitivity of the oscillation measurement were also developed. The inclusion of information on the energy resolution of the neutrino events results in a significant improvement in the allowed region for the oscillation parameters. The degree to which sin2 (2[theta])= 1.0 could be disfavoured with the exposure of the current dataset if the true mixing angle was non-maximal, was also investigated, with an improved neutrino energy reconstruction for very low energy events. The best fit oscillation parameters, obtained by the fitting software and incorporating resolution information were.
The MINOS experiment uses a long baseline neutrino beam, measured 1 km downstream from its origin in the Near Detector at Fermilab, and 734 km later in the large underground Far Detector in the Soudan mine. By comparing these two measurements, MINOS can probe the atmospheric domain of the neutrino oscillation phenomenology with unprecedented precision. Besides the ability to perform a world leading determination of the {Delta}m{sub 23}{sup 2} and {theta}{sub 23} parameters, via {nu}{sub {mu}} flux disappearance, MINOS has the potential to make a leading measurement of {nu}{sub {mu}} {yields} {nu}{sub e} oscillations in the atmospheric sector by looking for {nu}{sub e} appearance at the Far Detector. The observation of {nu}{sub e} appearance, tantamount to establishing a non-zero value of the {theta}{sub 13} mixing angle, opens the way to studies of CP violation in the leptonic sector, the neutrino spectral mass pattern ordering and neutrino oscillations in matter, the driving motivations of the next generation of neutrino experiments. In this thesis, we study the MINOS potential for measuring {theta}{sub 13} in the context of the MINOS Mock Data Challenge using a multivariate discriminant analysis method. We show the method's validity in the application to {nu}{sub e} event classification and background identification, as well as in its ability to identify a {nu}{sub e} signal in a Mock Data sample generated with undisclosed parameters. An independent shower reconstruction method based on three-dimensional hit matching and clustering was developed, providing several useful discriminator variables used in the multivariate analysis method. We also demonstrate that within 2 years of running, MINOS has the potential to improve the current best limit on {theta}{sub 13}, from the CHOOZ experiment, by a factor of 2.
The MINOS experiment utilizes the NuMI neutrino beam to study the phenomenon of neutrino oscillations. Muon neutrinos are sent over a baseline of 735 km, with a detector near the production point at Fermilab and one at the Soudan underground laboratory in northern Minnesota. By observing the?{sub {mu}} disappearance characteristic of oscillations, MINOS can measure the oscillation parameters. MINOS has previously made the best measurement of the atmospheric-regime mass splitting to date. New results are presented in which the data-set is doubled. Further analysis improvements, and the inclusion of additional event samples, further improve the sensitivity to the oscillation parameters. The mixing angle?13 is currently not measured to differ from zero. By searching for?{sub e} appearance in the?{sub {mu}} beam, MINOS is able to set new limits on the value of?13. An observation of the neutral current interaction rate at the far detector allows limits to be placed on the existence of sterile neutrinos. From September 2009 to March 2010, MINOS has taken data with a dedicated {bar {nu}}{sub {mu}} beam, allowing the first direct precision measurement of the antineutrino oscillation parameters in the atmospheric regime.
MINOS is a long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment. It consists of two large steel-scintillator tracking calorimeters. The near detector is situated at Fermilab, close to the production point of the NuMI muon-neutrino beam. The far detector is 735 km away, 716m underground in the Soudan mine, Northern Minnesota. The primary purpose of the MINOS experiment is to make precise measurements of the 'atmospheric' neutrino oscillation parameters (?matm2 and sin2 2?atm). The oscillation signal consists of an energy-dependent deficit of v? interactions in the far detector. The near detector is used to characterize the properties of the beam before oscillations develop. The two-detector design allows many potential sources of systematic error in the far detector to be mitigated by the near detector observations. This thesis describes the details of the v?-disappearance analysis, and presents a new technique to estimate the hadronic energy of neutrino interactions. This estimator achieves a significant improvement in the energy resolution of the neutrino spectrum, and in the sensitivity of the neutrino oscillation fit. The systematic uncertainty on the hadronic energy scale was re-evaluated and found to be comparable to that of the energy estimator previously in use. The best-fit oscillation parameters of the v?-disappearance analysis, incorporating this new estimator were: ?m2 = 2.32-0.08+0.12 x 10-3 eV2, sin 2 2? > 0.90 (90% C.L.). A similar analysis, using data from a period of running where the NuMI beam was operated in a configuration producing a predominantly $ar{v}$? beam, yielded somewhat different best-fit parameters ?$ar{m}$2 = (3.36-0.40+0.46(stat.) ± 0.06(syst.)) x 10-3eV2, sin2 2$ar{θ}$ = 0.86-0.12_0.11(stat.) ± 0.01(syst.). The tension between these results is intriguing, and additional antineutrino data is currently being taken in order to further investigate this apparent discrepancy.
The MINOS experiment uses a long baseline neutrino beam, measured 1 km downstream from its origin in the Near Detector at Fermilab, and 734 km later in the large underground Far Detector in the Soudan mine. By comparing these two measurements, MINOS can probe the atmospheric domain of the neutrino oscillation phenomenology with unprecedented precision. Besides the ability to perform a world leading determination of the [Delta]m$2\atop{23}$ and [theta]23 parameters, via v[mu] flux disappearance, MINOS has the potential to make a leading measurement of v[mu] → ve oscillations in the atmospheric sector by looking for ve appearance at the Far Detector. The observation of ve appearance, tantamount to establishing a non-zero value of the [theta]13 mixing angle, opens the way to studies of CP violation in the leptonic sector, the neutrino spectral mass pattern ordering and neutrino oscillations in matter, the driving motivations of the next generation of neutrino experiments. In this thesis, we study the MINOS potential for measuring [theta]13 in the context of the MINOS Mock Data Challenge using a multivariate discriminant analysis method. We show the method's validity in the application to ve event classification and background identification, as well as in its ability to identify a ve signal in a Mock Data sample generated with undisclosed parameters. An independent shower reconstruction method based on three-dimensional hit matching and clustering was developed, providing several useful discriminator variables used in the multivariate analysis method. We also demonstrate that within 2 years of running, MINOS has the potential to improve the current best limit on [theta]13, from the CHOOZ experiment, by a factor of 2.
MINOS is a long baseline neutrino oscillation experiment. A manmade beam of predominantly muon neutrinos is detected both 1 km and 735 km from the production point by two functionally identical detectors. A comparison of the energy spectra measured by the two detectors shows the energy-dependent disappearance of muon neutrinos characteristic of oscillations and allows a measurement of the parameters governing the oscillations. This thesis presents work leading to measurements of disappearance in the 6% {bar {nu}}{sub {mu}} background in that beam. A calibration is developed to correct for time-dependent changes in the responses of both detectors, reducing the corresponding uncertainty on hadronic energy measurements from 1.8% to 0.4% in the near detector and from 0.8% to 0.4% in the far detector. A method of selecting charged current {bar {nu}}{sub {mu}} events is developed, with purities (efficiencies) of 96.5% (74.4%) at the near detector, and 98.8% (70.9%) at the far detector in the region below 10 GeV reconstructed antineutrino energy. A method of using the measured near detector neutrino energy spectrum to predict that expected at the far detector is discussed, and developed for use in the {bar {nu}}{sub {mu}} analysis. Sources of systematic uncertainty contributing to the oscillation measurements are discussed. In the far detector, 32 charged current {bar {nu}}{sub {mu}} events are observed below a reconstructed energy of 30 GeV, compared to an expectation of 47.8 for [Delta]{bar m}{sub atm}2 = [Delta]m{sub atm}2, sin2(2{bar [theta]}23) = sin2(2{theta}23). This deficit, in such a low-statistics sample, makes the result difficult to interpret in the context of an oscillation parameter measurement. Possible sources for the discrepancy are discussed, concluding that considerably more data are required for a definitive solution. Running MINOS with a dedicated {bar {nu}}{sub {mu}} beam would be the ideal continuation of this work.
Among the goals of the MINOS experiment are the test of the {nu}{sub {mu}} {yields} {nu}{sub {tau}} oscillation and the search for sub-dominant {nu}{sub {mu}} {yields} {nu}{sub {tau}} oscillations. The former proceeds by a {nu}{sub {mu}} ''disappearance'' analysis while the latter would involve the ''appearance'' of {nu}{sub e} interactions in a predominantly {nu}{sub {mu}} beam. The disappearance of muon neutrinos is described by P({nu}{sub {mu}} {yields} {mu}{sub {mu}}) = 1 - sin{sup 2} 2{theta}{sub 23} sin{sup 2} (1.27 {Delta} m{sub 23}{sup 2} L/E) in the two-flavor approximation where {theta}{sub 23} is the angle between the second row and third column of the neutrino mixing matrix, {Delta}m{sub 23}{sup 2} = m{sub 2}{sup 2}-m{sub 3}{sup 2} (eV{sup 2}), L is the neutrino flight distance in km and E is the neutrino energy in GeV. A generic disappearance experiment compares a measured muon neutrino energy spectrum at a fixed baseline to the known energy spectrum of muon neutrino beam to extract the oscillation parameters sin{sup 2} 2{theta} which controls the overall magnitude of the disappearance and {Delta}m{sup 2} which controls the energy dependence.
The Main Injector Neutrino Oscillation Search (MINOS) experiment has continued to collect atmospheric neutrino events while doing a precision measurement of NuMI beam [nu]{sub {mu}} disappearance oscillations. The 5.4 kton iron calorimeter is magnetized to provide the unique capability of discriminating between [nu]{sub {mu}} and {bar {nu}}{sub {mu}} interactions on an event-by-event basis and has been collecting atmospheric neutrino data since July 2003. An analysis of the neutrino events with interaction vertices contained inside the detector will be presented.
We have measured the rates and spectra of neutral-current neutrino interactions in the MINOS detectors, which are separated by 734 km. A depletion in the rate at the far site would indicate mixing between [nu]{sub {mu}} and a sterile particle. The depletion of the total neutral-current event rate at the far site is limited to be below 17% at 90% confidence level without [nu]{sub e} appearance. Assuming oscillations occur at a single mass-squared splitting, a fit to the neutral- and charged-current energy spectra shows the fraction of [nu]{sub {mu}} oscillating to a sterile neutrino is 0.28{sub -0.28}{sup +0.25}(stat.+syst.). Including [nu]{sub e} appearance at the current experimental upper bound limits the depletion to be below 21% at 90% confidence level and the fit fraction of [nu]{sub {mu}} oscillating to a sterile neutrino is 0.43{sub -0.27}{sup +0.23}(stat.+syst.).