Document Type
Article
Publication Date
6-12-2008
Abstract
The MiniBooNE experiment at Fermilab has amassed the largest sample to date of π0s produced in neutral current (NC) neutrino-nucleus interactions at low energy. This Letter reports a measurement of the momentum distribution of π0s produced in mineral oil (CH2) and the first observation of coherent π0 production below 2 GeV. In the forward direction, the yield of events observed above the expectation for resonant production is attributed primarily to coherent production off carbon, but may also include a small contribution from diffractive production on hydrogen. Integrated over the MiniBooNE neutrino flux, the sum of the NC coherent and diffractive modes is found to be (19.5 ± 1.1 (stat) ± 2.5 (sys)) % of all exclusive NC π0 production at MiniBooNE. These measurements are of immediate utility because they quantify an important background to MiniBooNE's search for νμ → νe oscillations. © 2008 Elsevier B.V.
Publication Source (Journal or Book title)
Physics Letters, Section B: Nuclear, Elementary Particle and High-Energy Physics
First Page
41
Last Page
46
Recommended Citation
Aguilar-Arevalo, A., Anderson, C., Bazarko, A., Brice, S., Brown, B., Bugel, L., Cao, J., Coney, L., Conrad, J., Cox, D., Curioni, A., Djurcic, Z., Finley, D., Fleming, B., Ford, R., Garcia, F., Garvey, G., Green, C., Green, J., Hart, T., Hawker, E., Imlay, R., Johnson, R., Karagiori, G., Kasper, P., Katori, T., Kobilarcik, T., Kourbanis, I., Koutsoliotas, S., Laird, E., Linden, S., Link, J., & Liu, Y. (2008). First observation of coherent π0 production in neutrino-nucleus interactions with Eν < 2 GeV. Physics Letters, Section B: Nuclear, Elementary Particle and High-Energy Physics, 664 (1-2), 41-46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physletb.2008.05.006