SciBooNE wraps up
data-taking
Diagram of the SciBooNE beamline. Click on image for a larger version.
SciBooNE's 14 months of data-taking provided quantities of data that will lead to never-before-recorded measurements of neutrinos and antineutrinos at low energies. These data will increase the efficiency of other neutrino research, including the next-generation experiment T2K in Japan.
The collaboration will stop taking data and start decommissioning its detector today.
SciBooNE released preliminary results (download slides) this month at the ICHEP conference and expects to publish results by the end of the year. The experiment was designed for 2.0x1020 protons on target and exceeded the goal, collecting 2.5x1020.
SciBooNE's location as a near detector in the MiniBooNE beam path allowed it to study neutrinos before they oscillate, yet it sits far enough away from the neutrino source to avoid background particles from the initial beam.
The experiment recorded 30,000 neutrino events with good reconstructed tracks spanning all three subdetectors. The collaboration has yet to finalize the totals of antineutrino events and those contained solely in the SciBar subdetector. By next summer, all neutrino interactions should be analyzed for a presentation at a conference in Spain.
By using SciBooNE's data, experimenters on other neutrino projects can predict the probability of the type and number of particle interactions in the 1 GeV energy range. That reduces the chance of misidentifying particles and should, for example, help T2K accurately predict the background of misidentified photons in its search for electron neutrino appearance.
"It should improve the interpretation of T2K data, especially early on," said co-spokesperson Morgan Wascko, Imperial College London.
Data on muon neutrinos will add strength to MiniBooNE's results for neutrino disappearance. Also SciBooNE data showing the probability of seeing electron events should constrain the uncertainties in predicting electron neutrino appearance backgrounds.
Many of the 65 collaboration members serve on several neutrino experiments and also plan to work on the next generation of experiments.
"I think SciBooNE helped in many more ways than just with data," Wascko said. "It strengthened our network of collaborators from Japan and Europe."
-- Tona Kunz
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