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The PlasmaKristall-4 (PK-4) experiment on the International Space Station allows for the study of the three-dimensional interaction between plasma and dust particles. Previous simulations of the PK-4 environment have discovered fast moving ionization waves in the dc discharge [Hartmann et al., Plasma Sources Sci. Technol. 29, 115014 (2020)]. These ionization waves vary the plasma parameters by up to an order of magnitude, which may affect the mechanisms responsible for the self-organization of chains seen in the PK-4 experiment. Here, we adapt a molecular dynamics simulation to employ temporally varying plasma conditions in order to investigate the effect on the dust charging and electrostatic potential. In order to describe the differences between the average of the plasma conditions and the time-varying plasma condition, we present a model to reproduce the interaction that takes into account the negative potential from the dust grain and the positive potential from the ion wake. 

The MicroBooNE experiment is an 85 tonne active mass liquid argon time projection chamber neutrino detector exposed to the on-axis Booster Neutrino Beam at Fermilab. One of MicroBooNE’s physics goals is the precise measurement of neutrino interactions on argon in the 1 GeV energy regime. Building on the capabilities of the MicroBooNE detector, this analysis identifies $K^{+}$mesons, a key signature for the study of strange particle production in neutrino interactions. This measurement is furthermore valuable for background estimation for future nucleon decay searches and for improved reconstruction and particle identification capabilities in experiments such as the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment. In this Letter, we present the first-ever measurement of a flux-integrated cross section for charged-current muon neutrino induced $K^{+}$production on argon nuclei, determined to be $7.93\pm 3.22\left(\mathrm{stat}\right)\pm 2.83\left(\mathrm{syst}\right)\times {10}^{-42}{\mathrm{cm}}^2/\mathrm{nucleon}$based on an analysis of $6.88\times {10}^{20}$protons on target. This result was found to be consistent with model predictions from different neutrino event generators within the reported uncertainties. 

Abstract The existence of three distinct neutrino flavours,ν_e,ν_μandν_τ, is a central tenet of the Standard Model of particle physics^1,2. Quantum-mechanical interference can allow a neutrino of one initial flavour to be detected sometime later as a different flavour, a process called neutrino oscillation. Several anomalous observations inconsistent with this three-flavour picture have motivated the hypothesis that an additional neutrino state exists, which does not interact directly with matter, termed as ‘sterile’ neutrino,ν_s(refs. ^3–9). This includes anomalous observations from the Liquid Scintillator Neutrino Detector (LSND)³experiment and Mini-Booster Neutrino Experiment (MiniBooNE)^4,5, consistent withν_μ → ν_etransitions at a distance inconsistent with the three-neutrino picture. Here we use data obtained from the MicroBooNE liquid-argon time projection chamber¹⁰in two accelerator neutrino beams to exclude the single light sterile neutrino interpretation of the LSND and MiniBooNE anomalies at the 95% confidence level (CL). Moreover, we rule out a notable portion of the parameter space that could explain the gallium anomaly^6–8. This is one of the first measurements to use two accelerator neutrino beams to break a degeneracy betweenν_eappearance and disappearance, which would otherwise weaken the sensitivity to the sterile neutrino hypothesis. We find no evidence for eitherν_μ → ν_eflavour transitions orν_edisappearance that would indicate non-standard flavour oscillations. Our results indicate that previous anomalous observations consistent withν_μ → ν_etransitions cannot be explained by introducing a single sterile neutrino state. 

We report results from an updated search for neutral current (NC) resonant $\mathrm{\Delta }\left(1232\right)$baryon production and subsequent $\mathrm{\Delta }$radiative decay (NC $\mathrm{\Delta }\to N\gamma$). We consider events with and without final state protons; events with a proton can be compared with the kinematics of a $\mathrm{\Delta }\left(1232\right)$baryon decay, while events without a visible proton represent a more generic phase space. In order to maximize sensitivity to each topology, we simultaneously make use of two different reconstruction paradigms, Pandora and Wire-Cell, which have complementary strengths, and select mostly orthogonal sets of events. Considering an overall scaling of the NC $\mathrm{\Delta }\to N\gamma$rate as an explanation of the MiniBooNE anomaly, our data exclude this hypothesis at 94.4% CL. When we decouple the expected correlations between NC $\mathrm{\Delta }\to N\gamma$events with and without final state protons, our data exclude an interpretation in which all excess events have associated protons at $2.0\sigma$, and are consistent with an interpretation in which all excess events have no associated protons at  $0.63\sigma$. 

We report a new measurement of flux-integrated differential cross sections for charged-current (CC) muon neutrino interactions with argon nuclei that produce no final-state pions ( ${\nu }_{\mu }\mathrm{CC}0\pi$). These interactions are of particular importance as a topologically defined signal dominated by quasielasticlike interactions. This measurement was performed with the MicroBooNE liquid argon time projection chamber detector located at the Fermilab Booster Neutrino Beam and uses an exposure of $1.3\times {10}^{21}$protons on target collected between 2015 and 2020. The results are presented in terms of single- and double-differential cross sections as a function of the final-state muon momentum and angle. The data are compared with widely used neutrino event generators. We find good agreement with the single-differential measurements, while only a subset of generators are also able to adequately describe the data in double-differential distributions. This work facilitates comparison with Cherenkov detector measurements, including those located at the Booster Neutrino Beam. 

The excitation of low frequency dust acoustic (or dust density) waves in a dusty plasma can be driven by the flow of ions relative to dust. We consider the nonlinear development of the ion–dust streaming instability in a highly collisional plasma, where the ion and dust collision frequencies are a significant fraction of their corresponding plasma frequencies. This collisional parameter regime may be relevant to dusty plasma experiments under microgravity or ground-based conditions with high gas pressure. One-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations are presented, which take into account collisions of ions and dust with neutrals, and a background electric field that drives the ion flow. Ion flow speeds of the order of a few times thermal are considered. Waveforms of the dust density are found to have broad troughs and sharp crests in the nonlinear phase. The results are compared with the nonlinear development of the ion–dust streaming instability in a plasma with low collisionality. 

Understanding electron neutrino interactions is crucial for measurements of neutrino oscillations and searches for new physics in neutrino experiments. We present the first measurement of the flux-averaged ${\nu }_e+{\overline{\nu }}_e$charged-current single charged-pion production cross section on argon using the MicroBooNE detector and data from the NuMI neutrino beam. The total cross section is measured to be $[0.93\pm 0.13(\mathrm{stat})\pm 0.27(\mathrm{syst}\left)\right]\times {10}^{-39}{\mathrm{cm}}^2/\mathrm{nucleon}$at a mean ${\nu }_e+{\overline{\nu }}_e$energy of 730 MeV. Differential cross sections are also reported in electron energy, electron and pion angles, and electron-pion opening angle. 

This Letter presents an investigation of low-energy electron-neutrino interactions in the Fermilab Booster Neutrino Beam by the MicroBooNE experiment, motivated by the excess of electron-neutrino-like events observed by the MiniBooNE experiment. This is the first measurement to use data from all five years of operation of the MicroBooNE experiment, corresponding to an exposure of $1.11\times {10}^{21}$protons on target, a 70% increase on past results. Two samples of electron neutrino interactions without visible pions are used, one with visible protons and one without any visible protons. The MicroBooNE data show reasonable agreement with the nominal prediction, with $p$values $\ge 26.7\%$when the two ${\nu }_e$samples are combined, though the prediction exceeds the data in limited regions of phase space. The data are further compared to two empirical models that modify the predicted rate of electron-neutrino interactions in different variables in the simulation to match the unfolded MiniBooNE low energy excess. In the first model, this unfolding is performed as a function of electron neutrino energy, while the second model aims to match the observed shower energy and angle distributions of the MiniBooNE excess. This measurement excludes an electronlike interpretation of the MiniBooNE excess based on these models at $>99\%{\mathrm{CL}}_{\mathrm{s}}$in all kinematic variables. 

An interesting aspect of complex plasma is its ability to self-organize into a variety of structural configurations and undergo transitions between these states. A striking phenomenon is the isotropic-to-string transition observed in electrorheological complex plasma under the influence of a symmetric ion wake field. Such transitions have been investigated using the Plasma Kristall-4 (PK-4) microgravity laboratory on the International Space Station. Recent experiments and numerical simulations have shown that, under PK-4-relevant discharge conditions, the seemingly homogeneous direct current discharge column is highly inhomogeneous, with large axial electric field oscillations associated with ionization waves occurring on microsecond time scales. A multi-scale numerical model of the dust–plasma interactions is employed to investigate the role of the electric field in the charge of individual dust grains, the ion wake field and the order of string-like structures. Results are compared with those for dust strings formed in similar conditions in the PK-4 experiment. 

We investigate the expected precision of the reconstructed neutrino direction using a ${\nu }_{\mu }$-argon quasielasticlike event topology with one muon and one proton in the final state and the reconstruction capabilities of the MicroBooNE liquid argon time projection chamber. This direction is of importance in the context of DUNE sub-GeV atmospheric oscillation studies. MicroBooNE allows for a data-driven quantification of this resolution by investigating the deviation of the reconstructed muon-proton system orientation with respect to the well-known direction of neutrinos originating from the Booster Neutrino Beam with an exposure of $1.3\times {10}^{21}$protons on target. Using simulation studies, we derive the expected sub-GeV DUNE atmospheric-neutrino reconstructed simulated spectrum by developing a reweighting scheme as a function of the true neutrino energy. We further report flux-integrated single- and double-differential cross section measurements of charged-current ${\nu }_{\mu }$quasielasticlike scattering on argon as a function of the muon-proton system angle using the full MicroBooNE data sets. We also demonstrate the sensitivity of these results to nuclear effects and final state hadronic reinteraction modeling.