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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

Abstract:
We report results from a search for neutrino-induced neutral current (NC) resonant Δ(1232) baryon production followed by Δ radiative decay, with a ⟨0.8⟩  GeV neutrino beam. Data corresponding to MicroBooNE’s first three years of operations (6.80×1020 protons on target) are used to select single-photon events with one or zero protons and without charged leptons in the final state (1γ1p and 1γ0p, respectively). The background is constrained via an in situ high-purity measurement of NC π0 events, made possible via dedicated 2γ1p and 2γ0p selections. A total of 16 and 153 events are observed for the 1γ1p and 1γ0p selections, respectively, compared to a constrained background prediction of 20.5±3.65(syst) and 145.1±13.8(syst) events. The data lead to a bound on an anomalous enhancement of the normalization of NC Δ radiative decay of less than 2.3 times the predicted nominal rate for this process at the 90% confidence level (C.L.). The measurement disfavors a candidate photon interpretation of the MiniBooNE low-energy excess as a factor of 3.18 times the nominal NC Δ radiative decay rate at the 94.8% C.L., in favor of the nominal prediction, and represents a greater than 50-fold improvement over the world’s best limit on single-photon production in NC interactions in the sub-GeV neutrino energy range.
Publication status:
Published
Peer review status:
Peer reviewed

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Publisher copy:
10.1103/physrevlett.128.111801

Authors


More by this author
Institution:
University of Oxford
Division:
MPLS
Department:
Physics
Sub department:
Particle Physics
Role:
Author
ORCID:
0000-0002-7872-5445


Publisher:
American Physical Society
Journal:
Physical Review Letters More from this journal
Volume:
128
Issue:
11
Article number:
111801
Publication date:
2022-03-14
Acceptance date:
2022-02-10
DOI:
EISSN:
1079-7114
ISSN:
0031-9007
Pmid:
35363017


Language:
English
Keywords:
Pubs id:
1249401
Local pid:
pubs:1249401
Deposit date:
2022-06-27

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