Measurement of the first triple-differential cross section of νμCC charged pion cross section from the NOvA near detector
The NuMI Off-Axis Appearance experiment (NOvA) is designed to study neutrinos and their interaction properties with matter. NOvA is a long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment consisting of the Near Detector at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and Far Detector in Ash River, Minnesota aiming to determine the neutrino mass hierarchy, and constrain the charge-parity violation phase. In addition to oscillation measurements, the NOvA Near Detector (ND) samples contain some of the highest neutrino interaction statistics across the world data, and are thus ideal for measuring neutrino-nucleus interaction cross sections, which are important for constraining uncertainties in oscillation analyses. Further precision analysis across multiple kinematics and in multiple simultaneous dimensions offers great cross section modeling constraining power-with-backand forth with neutrino generator developers, this collective development offers the possibility of future smaller cross section systematic uncertainties. Here, we present the status of an analysis that will use data from the NuMI beam peaked at ∼ 1.8 GeV of neutrino energy to measure the semi-inclusive cross-section of νμ + A → μ− + π± + NX as a function of muon kinematics and leading-pion angle, where A represents any target nucleus in the NOvA ND, π± is the most energetic charged pion, and NX represents any other particles in the final state. This analysis is sensitive to deep inelastic scattering and resonance interactions alongside pion production via final state interactions, and through the triple-differential cross sections measured here can offer modeling constraints of these processes.
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