Performance Of A Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber Exposed To The WANF Neutrino Beam

We present the results of the first exposure of a Liquid Argon TPC to a multi-GeV neutrino beam. The data have been collected with a 50 liters ICARUS-like chamber located between the CHORUS and NOMAD experiments at the CERN West Area Neutrino Facility (WANF). We discuss both the instrumental performance of the detector and its capability to identify and reconstruct low multiplicity neutrino interactions.Comment: 14 pages, 12 figures. Submitted for publication to Physical Review

Implications of CHOOZ results for the decoupling of solar and atmospheric neutrino oscillations

We have considered the results of solar and atmospheric neutrino oscillation experiments in the scheme of mixing of three neutrinos with a mass hierarchy. It is shown that the recent results of the CHOOZ experiment imply that |U_{e3}|^2<<1 (U is the neutrino mixing matrix), that the oscillations of solar neutrinos are described by the two-generation formalism and that the oscillations of solar and atmospheric neutrinos decouple. It is also shown that if not only |U_{e3}|^2<<1 but also |U_{e3}|<<1, then the oscillations of atmospheric neutrinos do not depend on matter effects and are described by the two-generation formalism. In this case, with an appropriate identification of the mixing parameters, the two-generation analyses of solar and atmospheric neutrino data provide direct information on the mixing parameters of three neutrinos. We discuss the possibility to get information on |U_{e3}|^2 in long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments.Comment: 12 pages, no figure

The Yale Lar TPC

In this paper we give a concise description of a liquid argon time projection chamber (LAr TPC) developed at Yale, and present results from its first calibration run with cosmic rays.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, NuInt07 Conference Proceeding

Measurement of Through-Going Particle Momentum By Means Of Multiple Scattering With The ICARUS T600 TPC

The ICARUS collaboration has demonstrated, following the operation of a 600 ton (T600) detector at shallow depth, that the technique based on liquid Argon TPCs is now mature. The study of rare events, not contemplated in the Standard Model, can greatly benefit from the use of this kind of detectors. In particular, a deeper understanding of atmospheric neutrino properties will be obtained thanks to the unprecedented quality of the data ICARUS provides. However if we concentrate on the T600 performance, most of the $\nu_\mu$ charged current sample will be partially contained, due to the reduced dimensions of the detector. In this article, we address the problem of how well we can determine the kinematics of events having partially contained tracks. The analysis of a large sample of atmospheric muons collected during the T600 test run demonstrate that, in case the recorded track is at least one meter long, the muon momentum can be reconstructed by an algorithm that measures the Multiple Coulomb Scattering along the particle's path. Moreover, we show that momentum resolution can be improved by a factor two using an algorithm based on the Kalman Filtering technique

Conceptual design of a scalable multi-kton superconducting magnetized liquid Argon TPC

We discuss the possibility of new generation neutrino and astroparticle physics experiments exploiting a superconducting magnetized liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LAr TPC). The possibility to complement the features of the LAr TPC with those provided by a magnetic field has been considered in the past and has been shown to open new physics opportunities, in particular in the context of a neutrino factory. The experimental operation of a magnetized 10 lt LAr TPC prototype has been recently demonstrated. From basic proof of principle, the main challenge to be addressed is the possibility to magnetize a very large volume of Argon, corresponding to 10 kton or more, for future neutrino physics applications. In this paper we present one such conceptual design.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, invited talk at 7th International Workshop on Neutrino Factories and Superbeams (NUFACT05), LNF, Frascati (Rome

First operation of a liquid Argon TPC embedded in a magnetic field

We have operated for the first time a liquid Argon TPC immersed in a magnetic field up to 0.55 T. We show that the imaging properties of the detector are not affected by the presence of the magnetic field. The magnetic bending of the ionizing particle allows to discriminate their charge and estimate their momentum. These figures were up to now not accessible in the non-magnetized liquid Argon TPC.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure