Document Type
Article
Publication Date
7-28-2011
Abstract
The SciBooNE Collaboration reports K+ production cross section and rate measurements using high-energy daughter muon neutrino scattering data off the SciBar polystyrene (C8H8) target in the SciBooNE detector. The K+ mesons are produced by 8 GeV protons striking a beryllium target in Fermilab Booster Neutrino Beam line (BNB). Using observed neutrino and antineutrino events in SciBooNE, we measure d2σdpdΩ=(5. 34±0.76)mb/(GeV/c×sr) for p+Be→K++X at mean K + energy of 3.9 GeV and angle (with respect to the proton beam direction) of 3.7 degrees, corresponding to the selected K+ sample. Compared to Monte Carlo predictions using previous higher energy K+ production measurements, this measurement, which uses the NUANCE neutrino interaction generator, is consistent with a normalization factor of 0.85±0.12. This agreement is evidence that the extrapolation of the higher energy K+ measurements to an 8 GeV beam energy using Feynman scaling is valid. This measurement reduces the error on the K+ production cross section from 40% to 14%. © 2011 American Physical Society.
Publication Source (Journal or Book title)
Physical Review D - Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology
Recommended Citation
Cheng, G., Mariani, C., Alcaraz-Aunion, J., Brice, S., Bugel, L., Catala-Perez, J., Conrad, J., Djurcic, Z., Dore, U., Finley, D., Franke, A., Giganti, C., Gomez-Cadenas, J., Guzowski, P., Hanson, A., Hayato, Y., Hiraide, K., Jover-Manas, G., Karagiorgi, G., Katori, T., Kobayashi, Y., Kobilarcik, T., Kubo, H., Kurimoto, Y., Louis, W., Loverre, P., Ludovici, L., Mahn, K., Masuike, S., Matsuoka, K., McGary, V., Metcalf, W., & Mills, G. (2011). Measurement of K+ production cross section by 8 GeV protons using high-energy neutrino interactions in the SciBooNE detector. Physical Review D - Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology, 84 (1) https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.84.012009