May 3, 2024

MicroBooNE Experiment: Investigating a Long-Standing Neutrino Mystery

For more on this research study, checked out MicroBooNE Experiment Shows No Hint of Sterile Neutrino.
Referrals:.
” Search for Neutrino-Induced Neutral Current Δ Radiative Decay in MicroBooNE and a First Test of the MiniBooNE Low Energy Excess Under a Single-Photon Hypothesis” by MicroBooNE cooperation: P. Abratenko, R. An, J. Anthony, L. Arellano, J. Asaadi, A. Ashkenazi, S. Balasubramanian, B. Baller, C. Barnes, G. Barr, V. Basque, L. Bathe-Peters, O. Benevides Rodrigues, S. Berkman, A. Bhanderi, A. Bhat, M. Bishai, A. Blake, T. Bolton, J.Y. Book, L. Camilleri, D. Caratelli, I. Caro Terrazas, R. Castillo Fernandez, F. Cavanna, G. Cerati, Y. Chen, D. Cianci, J.M. Conrad, M. Convery, L. Cooper-Troendle, J.I. Crespo-Anadon, M. Del Tutto, S.R. Dennis, P. Detje, A. Devitt, R. Diurba, R. Dorrill, K. Duffy, S. Dytman, B. Eberly, A. Ereditato, J.J. Evans, R. Fine, G.A. Fiorentini Aguirre, R.S. Fitzpatrick, B.T. Fleming, N. Foppiani, D. Franco, A.P. Furmanski, D. Garcia-Gamez, S. Gardiner, G. Ge, S. Gollapinni, O. Goodwin, E. Gramellini, P. Green, H. Greenlee, W. Gu, R. Guenette, P. Guzowski, L. Hagaman, O. Hen, C. Hilgenberg, G.A. Horton-Smith, A. Hourlier, R. Itay, C. James, X. Ji, L. Jiang, J.H. Jo, R.A. Johnson, Y.J. Jwa, D. Kalra, N. Kamp, N. Kaneshige, G. Karagiorgi, W. Ketchum, M. Kirby, T. Kobilarcik, I. Kreslo, R. LaZur, I. Lepetic, K. Li, Y. Li, K. Lin, B.R. Littlejohn, W.C. Louis, X. Luo, K. Manivannan, C. Mariani, D. Marsden, J. Marshall, D.A. Martinez Caicedo, K. Mason, A. Mastbaum, N. McConkey, V. Meddage, T. Mettler, K. Miller, J. Mills, K. Mistry, T. Mohayai, A. Mogan, J. Moon, M. Mooney, A.F. Moor, C.D. Moore, L. Mora Lepin, J. Mousseau, M. Murphy, D. Naples, A. Navrer-Agasson, M. Nebot-Guinot, R.K. Neely, D.A. Newmark, J. Nowak, M. Nunes, O. Palamara, V. Paolone, A. Papadopoulou, V. Papavassiliou, S.F. Pate, N. Patel, A. Paudel, Z. Pavlovic, E. Piasetzky, I. Ponce-Pinto, S. Prince, X. Qian, J.L. Raaf, V. Radeka, A. Rafique, M. Reggiani-Guzzo, L. Ren, L.C.J. Rice, L. Rochester, J. Rodriguez Rondon, M. Rosenberg, M. Ross-Lonergan, G. Scanavini, D.W. Schmitz, A. Schukraft, W. Seligman, M.H. Shaevitz, R. Sharankova, J. Shi, J. Sinclair, A. Smith, E.L. Snider, M. Soderberg, S. Soldner-Rembold, P. Spentzouris, J. Spitz, M. Stancari, J. St. John, T. Strauss, K. Sutton, S. Sword-Fehlberg, A.M. Szelc, W. Tang, K. Terao, C.Thorpe, D. Totani, M. Toups, Y.-T. Tsai, M.A. Uchida, T. Usher, W. Van De Pontseele, B. Viren, M. Weber, H. Wei, Z. Williams, S. Wolbers, T. Wongjirad, M. Wospakrik, K. Wresilo, N. Wright, W. Wu, E. Yandel, T. Yang, G. Yarbrough, L.E. Yates, H.W. Yu, G.P. Zeller, J. Zennamo and C. Zhang, Submitted, Physical Review Letters.arXiv:2110.00409.
” Search for an anomalous excess of charged-current quasi-elastic νe interactions with the MicroBooNE experiment utilizing Deep-Learning-based reconstruction” by MicroBooNE collaboration, Submitted, Physical Review D.arXiv:2110.14080.
” Search for an anomalous excess of charged-current νe interactions without pions in the final state with the MicroBooNE experiment” by MicroBooNE partnership, Submitted, Physical Review D.arXiv:2110.14065.
” Search for an anomalous excess of inclusive charged-current νe interactions in the MicroBooNE experiment using Wire-Cell restoration” by MicroBooNE collaboration, Submitted, Physical Review D.arXiv:2110.13978.

Neutrinos are one of the most strange members of the Standard Model, a framework for describing basic forces and particles in nature. One of the enduring puzzles in neutrino physics comes from the Mini Booster Neutrino Experiment (MiniBooNE), which ran from 2002 to 2017 at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, or Fermilab, in Illinois. A neural network anticipates genuine life: Actual data from a neutrino interaction in the MicroBooNE LArTPC is revealed at left, where an electron neutrino gets in from the left and connects with a neutron in an argon nucleus, producing a proton (p) and an electron (e). Due to the effects of neutrino oscillations, this sterilized neutrino would manifest itself as an enhancement of electron neutrinos in MiniBooNE.
Keeping in mind the level at which MicroBooNE can make the measurement, this suggests that the MiniBooNE excess can not be attributed entirely to additional neutrino interactions.

Physics college student Nicholas Kamp and Lauren Yates, along with Professor Janet Conrad, all within the MIT Laboratory for Nuclear Science, have actually played a leading function in MicroBooNEs deep-learning-based look for an excess of neutrinos in the Fermilab Booster Neutrino Beam. In this interview, Kamp discusses the future of the MiniBooNE anomaly within the context of MicroBooNEs newest findings.
Lauren Yates, an MIT college student in physics, keeps an eye on the MicroBooNE detector in the Remote Operation Center West control space at Fermilab in Illinois. Credit: Reidar Hahn/Fermilab.
Q: Why is the MiniBooNE anomaly a huge deal?
A: One of the huge open questions in neutrino physics worries the possible existence of a theoretical particle called the “sterilized neutrino.” Due to the fact that it can offer us clues to the larger theory that explains the lots of particles we see, discovering a brand-new particle would be a very huge offer. The most typical explanation of the MiniBooNE excess includes the addition of such a sterile neutrino to the Standard Model. Due to the effects of neutrino oscillations, this sterilized neutrino would manifest itself as an enhancement of electron neutrinos in MiniBooNE.
There are numerous extra abnormalities seen in neutrino physics that suggest this particle might exist. It is hard to discuss these anomalies along with MiniBooNE through a single sterilized neutrino– the complete image does not rather fit. Our group at MIT is interested in new physics designs that can potentially describe this complete picture.
Q: What is our existing understanding of the MiniBooNE excess?
A: Our understanding has advanced considerably of late thanks to advancements in both the theoretical and experimental worlds.
We established a “mixed model” that involves two types of unique neutrinos– one which morphs to electron taste and one which rots to a photon. Keeping in mind the level at which MicroBooNE can make the measurement, this recommends that the MiniBooNE excess can not be associated entirely to additional neutrino interactions. They need to be coming from something brand-new, such as the exotic neutrino decay in the combined model.
Q: You pointed out that your group is involved in deep-learning-based MicroBooNE analysis. Why utilize deep knowing in neutrino physics?
A: When humans take a look at images of cats, they can discriminate in between types without much difficulty. When physicists look at images coming from a LArTPC, they can tell the difference in between the particles produced in neutrino interactions without much difficulty. Due to the nuance of the differences, both tasks turn out to be tough for standard algorithms.
Just recently, for example, it became the site of the National Science Foundation AI Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Fundamental Interactions. We have also had the opportunity to work with fantastic groups at SLAC, Tufts University, Columbia University, and IIT, each with a strong understanding base in the ties in between deep knowing and neutrino physics.
Among the key ideas in deep knowing is that of a “neutral network,” which is an algorithm that makes choices (such as recognizing particles in a LArTPC) based upon previous exposure to a suite of training data. Our group produced the first paper on particle identification using deep learning in neutrino physics, showing it to be a powerful method. This is a significant reason that the recently-released outcomes of MicroBooNEs deep learning-based analysis location strong constraints on an electron neutrino analysis of the MiniBooNE excess.
All in all, its very lucky that much of the foundation for this analysis was carried out in the AI-rich environment at MIT.

Neutrinos are one of the most strange members of the Standard Model, a framework for describing fundamental forces and particles in nature. One of the enduring puzzles in neutrino physics comes from the Mini Booster Neutrino Experiment (MiniBooNE), which ran from 2002 to 2017 at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, or Fermilab, in Illinois.
A neural network anticipates genuine life: Actual information from a neutrino interaction in the MicroBooNE LArTPC is revealed at left, where an electron neutrino goes into from the left and connects with a neutron in an argon nucleus, producing a proton (p) and an electron (e). Credit: MicroBooNE Collaboration
In 2007, researchers developed the idea for a follow-up experiment, MicroBooNE, which just recently ended up collecting information at Fermilab. MicroBooNE is an ideal test of the MiniBooNE excess thanks to its usage of an unique detector innovation known as the liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC), which yields high-resolution images of the particles that get produced in neutrino interactions.