Neutrino interaction vertex reconstruction and particle identification in the MicroBooNE detector

This thesis presents the results of a study measuring and improving the quality of neutrino interaction vertex reconstruction and particle identification (PID) in the MicroBooNE detector. The detector comprises a liquid argon time-projection chamber (LArTPC) with a light-collection system, permitting precise tracking of neutrino interaction final states. MicroBooNE's primary physics goal is to resolve the low-energy electron neutrino appearance anomalies observed at MiniBooNE and LSND. The experiment therefore requires high-quality neutrino interaction vertex reconstruction and PID, which together strongly influence event reconstruction quality and energy/momentum estimation. Improvements to the vertex reconstruction are made through the development of powerful new variables and the application of machine learning techniques; these algorithms are now the default used at MicroBooNE and have enabled new studies of neutrino interactions with up to six charged particles in the final state. A robust PID method (FOMA) is developed using a novel analytic approximation to the mode of the dE/dx distribution. A deep learning PID method (PidNet) is also proposed, based on convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and a semi-supervised representation learning method. The performance of the two approaches is compared and contrasted with PIDA, the default PID algorithm used at MicroBooNE. This work concludes by assessing the impact of the tools and methods developed in this work on particle energy estimation in MicroBooNE

Reducing model bias in a deep learning classifier using domain adversarial neural networks in the MINERvA experiment

We present a simulation-based study using deep convolutional neural networks (DCNNs) to identify neutrino interaction vertices in the MINERvA passive targets region, and illustrate the application of domain adversarial neural networks (DANNs) in this context. DANNs are designed to be trained in one domain (simulated data) but tested in a second domain (physics data) and utilize unlabeled data from the second domain so that during training only features which are unable to discriminate between the domains are promoted. MINERvA is a neutrino-nucleus scattering experiment using the NuMI beamline at Fermilab. $A$-dependent cross sections are an important part of the physics program, and these measurements require vertex finding in complicated events. To illustrate the impact of the DANN we used a modified set of simulation in place of physics data during the training of the DANN and then used the label of the modified simulation during the evaluation of the DANN. We find that deep learning based methods offer significant advantages over our prior track-based reconstruction for the task of vertex finding, and that DANNs are able to improve the performance of deep networks by leveraging available unlabeled data and by mitigating network performance degradation rooted in biases in the physics models used for training.Comment: 41 page

A Deep Neural Network for Pixel-Level Electromagnetic Particle Identification in the MicroBooNE Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber

We have developed a convolutional neural network (CNN) that can make a pixel-level prediction of objects in image data recorded by a liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) for the first time. We describe the network design, training techniques, and software tools developed to train this network. The goal of this work is to develop a complete deep neural network based data reconstruction chain for the MicroBooNE detector. We show the first demonstration of a network's validity on real LArTPC data using MicroBooNE collection plane images. The demonstration is performed for stopping muon and a $\nu_\mu$ charged current neutral pion data samples

Deep Learning the Effects of Photon Sensors on the Event Reconstruction Performance in an Antineutrino Detector

We provide a fast approach incorporating the usage of deep learning for evaluating the effects of photon sensors in an antineutrino detector on the event reconstruction performance therein. This work is an attempt to harness the power of deep learning for detector designing and upgrade planning. Using the Daya Bay detector as a benchmark case and the vertex reconstruction performance as the objective for the deep neural network, we find that the photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) have different relative importance to the vertex reconstruction. More importantly, the vertex position resolutions for the Daya Bay detector follow approximately a multi-exponential relationship with respect to the number of PMTs and hence, the coverage. This could also assist in deciding on the merits of installing additional PMTs for future detector plans. The approach could easily be used with other objectives in place of vertex reconstruction

Reconstruction and measurement of (100) MeV energy electromagnetic activity from π0 arrow γγ decays in the MicroBooNE LArTPC

We present results on the reconstruction of electromagnetic (EM) activity from photons produced in charged current νμ interactions with final state π0s. We employ a fully-automated reconstruction chain capable of identifying EM showers of (100) MeV energy, relying on a combination of traditional reconstruction techniques together with novel machine-learning approaches. These studies demonstrate good energy resolution, and good agreement between data and simulation, relying on the reconstructed invariant π0 mass and other photon distributions for validation. The reconstruction techniques developed are applied to a selection of νμ + Ar → μ + π0 + X candidate events to demonstrate the potential for calorimetric separation of photons from electrons and reconstruction of π0 kinematics