Rejecting cosmic background for exclusive charged current quasi elastic neutrino interaction studies with Liquid Argon TPCs; a case study with the MicroBooNE detector
C. Adams (Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA); M. Alrashed (Kansas State University (KSU), Manhattan, KS, 66506, USA); R. An (Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), Chicago, IL, 60616, USA); J. Anthony (University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB3 0HE, UK); J. Asaadi (University of Texas, Arlington, TX, 76019, USA); et al - Show all 174 authors
Cosmic ray (CR) interactions can be a challenging source of background for neutrino oscillation and cross-section measurements in surface detectors. We present methods for CR rejection in measurements of charged-current quasielastic-like (CCQE-like) neutrino interactions, with a muon and a proton in the final state, measured using liquid argon time projection chambers (LArTPCs). Using a sample of cosmic data collected with the MicroBooNE detector, mixed with simulated neutrino scattering events, a set of event selection criteria is developed that produces an event sample with minimal contribution from CR background. Depending on the selection criteria used a purity between 50 and 80% can be achieved with a signal selection efficiency between 50 and 25%, with higher purity coming at the expense of lower efficiency. While using a specific dataset and selection criteria values optimized for the MicroBooNE detector, the concepts presented here are generic and can be adapted for various studies of exclusive $$\nu _{\mu }$$ CCQE interactions in LArTPCs.
