The CAPTAIN Detector and Physics Program

Abstract

The Cryogenic Apparatus for Precision Tests of Argon Interactions with Neutrino (CAP-TAIN) program is designed to make measurements of scientific importance to long-baseline neutrino physics and physics topics that will be explored by large underground detectors. CAPTAIN began as part of a Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project and has evolved into a multi-institutional collaboration. The program employs two detectors. The CAPTAIN detector is a liquid argon TPC deployed in a portable and evacuable cryostat that can hold a total of 7700 liters of liquid argon. Five tons of liquid argon are instrumented with a 2,000 channel liquid argon TPC and a photon detection system. The cryostat has ports that can hold optical windows for laser calibration and windows for the introduction of charged particle beams. The materials for the detector are currently being acquired. Assembly is anticipated to begin August of 2013, with a commissioning period ending in the summer of 2014. During commssioning, laser calibration and cosmic-ray data will be taken and analyzed. Subsequent to the commissioning phase, the detector will be moved to a high-energy neutron beamline that is part of the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center. The neutron data will be used to measure crosssections of spallation products that are backgrounds to measurements of neutrinos from a supernova burst and cross-sections of events that mimic the electron neutrino appearance signal in long-baseline neutrino physics. The data will also be used to develop strategies for counting neutrons and evaluating their energies in a liquid argon TPC that are important for the total neutrino energy measurement in the analysis of long-baseline neutrinos. The prototype detector is being fabricated in a cryostat supplied by the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) group and consists of a 1,000 channel liquid argon time-projection chamber (TPC). Fabrication also begins in August of 2013, but will be completed more quickly than the CAPTAIN detector. The prototype detector will allow an end-to-end test of all components in time to make adjustments to the scheme employed by CAPTAIN. The prototype will collect cosmic-ray and laser calibration data earlier than will be possible in CAPTAIN allowing the development of analysis techniques at an earlier date. Finally, the prototype will allow for testing of calibration and other ideas in parallel to the running of CAPTAIN.Subsequent to the neutron running, the CAPTAIN detector will be moved to a neutrino source. There are several possible neutrino sources of interest. The two most likely neutrino possibilities are an on-axis run in the NuMI (Neutrinos at the Main Injector) beamline at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL) and a run in the neutrino source produced by the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. An on-axis run at NUMI produces more than one million events of interest in a two or three year run at neutrino energies between 1 and...

Non-standard interactions in propagation at the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment

“…Moreover, unlike atmospheric neutrino oscillation experiments [13][14][15][16], at long-baseline beam experiments the beam is well-measured at a near detector, keeping systematic uncertainties under control. Future long-baseline facilities, combined with a dedicated short-baseline program [17][18][19] to determine neutrino cross sections precisely, expect to be able to bring systematic uncertainties down to the percent level. Therefore, they offer the ideal benchmark to constrain NSI in propagation.…”

Opportunities With Decay-At-Rest Neutrinos From Decay-In-Flight Neutrino Beams

“…We emphasize that relatively modest improvements would be required to host a 5 t LArTPC at some of the examined locations. We also note again that LArTPCs of similar magnitude are presently under construction or design, with many slated for installation within the next five years at Fermilab [22,23]. While significant experimental challenges will be present for these detector-location combinations, the impressive DAR ν event rates from DIF sources clearly demand further attention.…”

“…Positions (15, 20, 0) and (0, 40, 0) are located near the target: the For further illustration, charged and neutral current neutrino interaction rates in liquid argon detector target material were then calculated at the examined locations. Detector target sizes of 5 t were chosen for the first three locations to mirror the size of small LArTPCs currently under construction [22], while a 60 t fiducial volume was placed at the MicroBooNE detector location [23]. For energies less than 53 MeV, theoretical calculations of the relevant cross-sections were utilized [24], while interaction rates from the 235.5 MeV ν µ flux was calculated using the charged-current quasi-elastic cross-section from Ref.…”

New Dark Matter Search Strategies at DUNE

“…For example, DAEδDALUS [34] is a planned stopped pion experiment to be placed at DUNE. In addition, CAPTAIN [35] is a LArTPC which will be used for calibrating DUNE, and there are plans to place it at a stopped pion experiment at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS).…”