First measurements of inclusive muon neutrino charged current differential cross sections on argon

Phys Rev Lett. 2012 Apr 20;108(16):161802. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.161802. Epub 2012 Apr 20.

Abstract

The ArgoNeuT Collaboration presents the first measurements of inclusive muon neutrino charged current differential cross sections on argon. Obtained in the NuMI neutrino beam line at Fermilab, the flux-integrated results are reported in terms of outgoing muon angle and momentum. The data are consistent with the Monte Carlo expectation across the full range of kinematics sampled, 0°<θ(μ)<36° and 0<P(μ)<25 GeV/c. Along with confirming the viability of liquid argon time projection chamber technology for neutrino detection, the measurements allow tests of low-energy neutrino scattering models important for interpreting results from long baseline neutrino oscillation experiments designed to investigate CP violation and the orientation of the neutrino mass hierarchy.