- Open Access
Characterizing beam profiles in accelerator neutrino experiments through off-axis neutrino interactions
Phys. Rev. D 112, 032005 – Published 14 August, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/nssd-tnvy
Abstract
We introduce a novel approach that utilizes neutrino events from the off-axis near detector to investigate the beam profile in long-baseline neutrino experiments. Understanding the dynamics of the neutrino beam is crucial for improving the precision of neutrino oscillation measurements. We demonstrate that certain observables related to the azimuthal angle of the neutrino direction are useful for determining the average neutrino production point from experimental data, providing a valuable cross-check against Monte Carlo simulations. Additionally, these observables can help identify potential alignment issues between the detector and the decay volume. In future neutrino experiments with significantly higher statistics, these observables will become essential to ensure the accuracy and stability of the beam profile.
Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)
Article Text
References (9)
- N. Charitonidis, A. Longhin, M. Pari, E. G. Parozzi, and F. Terranova, Design and diagnostics of high-precision accelerator neutrino beams, Appl. Sci. 11, 1644 (2021).
- S. E. Kopp, Accelerator neutrino beams, Phys. Rep. 439, 101 (2007).
- D. Beavis, A. Carroll, and I. Chiang, Long baseline neutrino oscillation experiment at the AGS. Physics design report, Technical Report No. BNL-52459, Brookhaven National Laboratory, 1995.
- A. Ferrero (T2K Collaboration), The ND280 near detector of the T2K experiment, in AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 1189 (American Institute of Physics, Melville, NY, 2009), pp. 77–82.
- K. Abe, N. Abgrall, H. Aihara, Y. Ajima, J. Albert, D. Allan, P.-A. Amaudruz, C. Andreopoulos, B. Andrieu, M. Anerella et al., The T2K experiment, Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res., Sect. A 659, 106 (2011).
- Y. Hayato and L. Pickering, The neut neutrino interaction simulation program library, Eur. Phys. J. Spec. Top. 230, 4469 (2021).
- K. Abe et al. (T2K Collaboration), T2K neutrino flux prediction, Phys. Rev. D 87, 012001 (2013); (T2K Collaboration)Phys. Rev. D 87, 019902(E) (2013).
- K. Abe et al. (T2K Collaboration), Characterization of nuclear effects in muon-neutrino scattering on hydrocarbon with a measurement of final-state kinematics and correlations in charged-current pionless interactions at T2K, Phys. Rev. D 98, 032003 (2018).
- D. Douqa, S. Bordoni, L. Giannessi, F. Sánchez, C. Schloesser, and A. Nikolakopoulos, Superscaling variable and neutrino energy reconstruction from theoretical predictions to experimental limitations, Phys. Rev. D 109, 073001 (2024).