A high-statistics sample of charged-current muon neutrino scattering events collected with the MiniBooNE experiment is analyzed to extract the first measurement of the double differential cross section ( d 2 σ dTµd cos θµ ) for charged-current quasielastic (CCQE) scattering on carbon. This result features minimal model dependence and provides the most complete information on this process to date. With the assumption of CCQE scattering, the absolute cross section as a function of neutrino energy (σ[Eν]) and the single differential cross section ( dσ dQ 2 ) are extracted to facilitate comparison with previous measurements. These quantities may be used to characterize an effective axial-vector form factor of the nucleon and to improve the modeling of low-energy neutrino interactions on nuclear targets. The results are relevant for experiments searching for neutrino oscillations.

The MiniBooNE experiment at Fermilab reports results from an analysis of νe appearance data from 12.84 × 10 20 protons on target in neutrino mode, an increase of approximately a factor of two over previously reported results. A νe charged-current quasielastic event excess of 381.2 ± 85.2 events (4.5σ) is observed in the energy range 200 < E QE ν < 1250 MeV. Combining these data with theνe appearance data from 11.27 × 10 20 protons on target in antineutrino mode, a total νe plus νe charged-current quasielastic event excess of 460.5 ± 99.0 events (4.7σ) is observed. If interpreted in a two-neutrino oscillation model, νµ → νe, the best oscillation fit to the excess has a probability of 21.1%, while the background-only fit has a χ 2 probability of 6 × 10 −7 relative to the best fit. The MiniBooNE data are consistent in energy and magnitude with the excess of events reported by the Liquid Scintillator Neutrino Detector (LSND), and the significance of the combined LSND and MiniBooNE excesses is 6.0σ. A two-neutrino oscillation interpretation of the data would require at least four neutrino types and indicate physics beyond the three neutrino paradigm. Although the data are fit with a two-neutrino oscillation model, other models may provide better fits to the data.Evidence for short-baseline neutrino anomalies at an L/E ν ∼ 1 m/MeV, where E ν is the neutrino energy and L is the distance that the neutrino traveled before detection, comes from both neutrino appearance and disappearance experiments. The appearance anomalies include the excess of ν e andν e charge-current quasielastic (CCQE) events observed by the LSND [1] and MiniBooNE [2,3] experiments, while the disappearance anomalies, although not completely consistent, include the deficit of ν e andν e events observed by reactor [4] and radioactive-source experiments [5]. As the masses and mixings within the 3-generation neutrino matrix have been attached to solar and long-baseline neutrino experiments, more exotic models are typically used to explain these anomalies, including, for example, 3+N neutrino oscillation models involving three active neutrinos and N additional sterile neutrinos [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14], resonant neutrino oscillations [15], Lorentz violation [16], sterile neutrino decay [17], sterile neutrino nonstandard interactions [18], and sterile neutrino extra dimensions [19]. This Letter presents improved MiniBooNE ν e andν e appearance results, assuming two-neutrino oscillations with probability arXiv:1805.12028v2 [hep-ex]

Dark sectors, consisting of new, light, weakly-coupled particles that do not interact with the known strong, weak, or electromagnetic forces, are a particularly compelling possibility for new physics. Nature may contain numerous dark sectors, each with their own beautiful structure, distinct particles, and forces. This review summarizes the physics motivation for dark sectors and the exciting opportunities for experimental exploration. It is the summary of the Intensity Frontier subgroup "New, Light, Weakly-coupled Particles" of the Community Summer Study 2013 (Snowmass). We discuss axions, which solve the strong CP problem and are an excellent dark matter candidate, and their generalization to axion-like particles. We also review dark photons and other dark-sector particles, including sub-GeV dark matter, which are theoretically natural, provide for dark matter candidates or new dark matter interactions, and could resolve outstanding puzzles in particle and astro-particle physics. In many cases, the exploration of dark sectors can proceed with existing facilities and comparatively modest experiments. A rich, diverse, and lowcost experimental program has been identified that has the potential for one or more game-changing discoveries. These physics opportunities should be vigorously pursued in the US and elsewhere.

This paper explores the use of L/E oscillation probability distributions to compare experimental measurements and to evaluate oscillation models. In this case, L is the distance of neutrino travel and E is a measure of the interacting neutrino's energy. While comparisons using allowed and excluded regions for oscillation model parameters are likely the only rigorous method for these comparisons, the L/E distributions are shown to give qualitative information on the agreement of an experiment's data with a simple two-neutrino oscillation model. In more detail, this paper also outlines how the L/E distributions can be best calculated and used for model comparisons. Specifically, the paper presents the L/E data points for the final MiniBooNE data samples and, in the Appendix, explains and corrects the mistaken analysis published by the ICARUS collaboration.

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