Demonstration and performance of online data selection for liquid argon time projection chambers using MicroBooNE data

Journal article

The MicroBooNE detector is a liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) that produces three-dimensional images of particle interactions using ionization charge collected by anode wire plane arrays and scintillation light collected by a light detection system. In addition to testing long-standing experimental neutrino anomalies and performing measurements of neutrino interactions with argon nuclei using the Fermilab Booster Neutrino Beam, MicroBooNE aims to develop methodologies for rare beyond the Standard Model and off-beam physics searches. Looking ahead to future LArTPC experiments such as the upcoming Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE), achieving high sensitivity and livetime for non-beam physics while satisfying data processing and storage constraints will require data-driven, intelligent, and online or real-time data selection techniques. MicroBooNE serves as a useful testbed for the development of such techniques, which are essential for reducing data rates and preserving rare signals with high accuracy. In this paper, we describe a fast data selection algorithm suitable for online execution to identify decay electrons from stopping cosmic ray muons in the MicroBooNE detector utilizing ionization charge information, and present its performance using MicroBooNE data. This work demonstrates the feasibility of online, charge-based, and topology-driven data selection in a LArTPC and provides an important proof-of-principle for applying such techniques to other LArTPC experiments.

Authors: Abratenko, P; Aldana, DA; Arellano, L; Asaadi, J; Ashkenazi, A

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: IOP Publishing
• Journal: Journal of Instrumentation More from this journal
• Volume: 21
• Issue: 09
• Pages: P09044-P09044
• Publication date: 2026-09-28
• DOI: 10.1088/1748-0221/21/09/p09044
• EISSN: 1748-0221
• ISSN: 1748-0221
• Language: English
• Keywords: liquid argon time projection chamber; new physics searches; cosmic ray muons; stopping muons; MicroBooNE; data rate reduction; sand dunes