Giving Credit

• Masterclass Developed by…
• Dr. Greg Pawlowski
• Associate Professor, University of Minnesota
• Neutrino Physicist

NOvA Masterclass History

• New, Focuses on a Result About the Neutrino as a Particle
• Piloted with Teachers
• University of MN Center Teachers
• Neutrino Fellows
• Piloted with Students
• April 23rd, 2022 at University of MN
• 10 Students, 4 Teachers

Summer 2022 Workshops!

• RICE
• MN…Again!
• V-Tech
• W&M!!!

3 Flavors of Neutrinos

• Electron
• Muon
• Tau

Neutrino Interaction - MINERvA

Neutrino Interactions: Charged Current (NuMu)

First of 2 Types of Interactions

• W+ Boson Mediated
• W+ is Charged, Results in Charged Particle
• Allows Identification of Neutrino Flavor

Far Detector

Near Detector

Far Detector

Near Detector

Analyzing Neutrino Events

Note Extended Length of Muon Neutrino Interaction

Data of Neutrino Interactions from NOvA

Scenario

• For a Number of Protons on Target (ie a “Chunk” of Neutrinos)
• 46 Total Neutrino Events in the Far Detector
• 6 of These Events were Muon Neutrino Interactions (Charged Current, NuMu, W+ Mediated)

Task

• Look at Event Images from the Far Detector
• Look at the 6, Muon Neutrino Interactions First
• Website with Event Images
• 6 Event Images
• Note the Length of the Longest Track
• Report Results via Google Form

Finding the Images & Form

• Agenda Page: 2 Links
• Image Website
• Google Form to Submit Results

Charged Current (Nu Mu) Interaction Reporting

Image Analysis Time

• Analyze All 6 Images
• Average will be taken
• Submit via Google Form as You Work
• Submit Form Multiple Times (1 per image)
• Take a Break When Finished

Charged Current (NuMu) Event Results

The Other Interaction Type: Neutral Current

• Mediated by Z Boson
• Z is Uncharged…No Charged Particle Seen…Cannot Identify Flavor

Same Event Display You Know

NOvA Analysis Goal

• Look at Neutrino Interaction Events
• Charged Current - Able to Identify Flavor
• Neutral Current - Unable to Identify Flavor
• Any Interaction
• Compare Near Detector and Far Detector Interaction Types

Far Detector Event Analysis

• Continue to Look at Far Detector Events
• For Same Number of Protons On Target (Proportional to Number of Neutrinos Created)
• 46 Total Events Seen
• 6, Charged Current, Muon Neutrino Interactions (Already Analyzed)
• 40, Neutral Current Events (Could be Any Neutrino Flavor)

Your Next Task:

• Website with Event Images
• Now, Look at a Sampling of Neutral Current Events
• Note the Length of the Longest Track
• Will Divide and Conquer…40 Images is a Lot…
• Work in Small Groups, Report via Google Form

Finding the Images & Form

• CLOSE the Charged Current (NuMu) Tabs
• Event Images
• Google Form
• Return to Agenda Page
• After Lunch
• Image Website
• Google Form to Submit Results

Neutral Current Interaction Reporting

Breakup Into Teams of 2 or May Work Alone

• 40 Images is a lot…gets tedious
• Look for about 5 to 10 images per team, Group Dependent
• Manually Enter Image Number in Google Form
• Drop any leading zeros: 02 is 2
• Report Longest Track Length in Centimeters
• Scale from the Image
• Do Not Include the Unit, Though

Links on the Agenda Page - Go Forth!

Image Analysis Time

NOvA Analysis Goal

• Far Detector: 46 Events
• 6 Charged Current
• Far Ratio: 6 / 46 = 0.13
• Next: Near Detector
• Compare Ratio: Charged Current / Total Events
• Will it be the Same or Different?

Near Detector Analysis Based on Far Detector

• Near Detector Data Set is Large (More on this soon…)
• Data Set is Mixed, Not Separated
• Easy Identification of Nu Mu vs NC Event, Based on Far Detector Images
• Look at Histograms of Track Length Results to Determine

Far to Near Detector Event Comparison

Showing Ability to Compare Far Detector Event Ratio to Near Detector Event Ratio

Near Detector Data Set

• Math Prediction: Near Detector Events Should be in the Thousands
• Actual Data Set has Approximately 6000 Events

Math Allows Us to Consider the Near Detector Data Set to be Comparable to the 46 Event Data Set from the Far Detector

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Goal Reminder - Compare Muon Neutrino Events to Total Events Ratio

• Far Detector Ratio: 6 / 46 = 0.13
• Near Detector Ratio: ??? / ~6000 = ???