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Abstract High-Pressure Gas Time Projection Chambers (HPgTPCs) have benefits such as low energy thresholds, magnetisability, and 4π acceptance, making them ideal for neutrino experiments such as DUNE. We present the design of an FPGA-based solution optimised for Gaseous Argon Near Detector (ND-GAr), which is part of the Phase-II more capable near detector for DUNE. These electronics reduce the cost significantly compared to using collider readout electronics, which are typically designed for much higher occupancy and therefore, for example, need much larger numbers of FPGAs and power per channel. We demonstrate the performance of our electronics with the Teststand for an Overpressurised Argon Detector (TOAD) at Fermilab in the US at a range of pressures and gas mixtures up to 4.5 barA, reading out ∼10 000 channels from a Multi-Wire Proportional Chamber (MWPC). The operation took place between April and July of 2024. We measure the noise characteristics of the system to be sufficiently low, and we identify sources of noise that can be further mitigated in the next iteration. We also note that the cooling scheme used in the test requires improvement before full-scale deployment. Despite these necessary improvements, we show that the system can fulfil the needs of a HPgTPC for a fraction of the price of collider readout electronics. 

We present the measurement of ${\pi }^{+}$-argon inelastic cross sections using the ProtoDUNE single-phase liquid argon time projection chamber in the incident ${\pi }^{+}$kinetic energy range of 500–800 MeV in multiple exclusive channels (absorption, charge exchange, and the remaining inelastic interactions). The results of this analysis are important inputs to simulations of liquid argon neutrino experiments such as the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment and the Short Baseline Neutrino program at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. They will be employed to improve the modeling of final state interactions within neutrino event generators used by these experiments, as well as the modeling of ${\pi }^{+}$-argon secondary interactions within the liquid argon. This is the first measurement of ${\pi }^{+}$-argon absorption at this kinetic energy range as well as the first ever measurement of ${\pi }^{+}$-argon charge exchange. 

Double- and single-differential cross sections for inclusive charged-current ${\nu }_{\mu }$-nucleus scattering are reported for the kinematic domain 0 to $2\mathrm{GeV}/c$in three-momentum transfer and 0 to 2 GeV in available energy, at a mean ${\nu }_{\mu }$energy of 1.86 GeV. The measurements are based on an estimated 995,760 ${\nu }_{\mu }$charged-current (CC) interactions in the scintillator medium of the NOvA Near Detector. The subdomain populated by 2-particle-2-hole (2p2h) reactions is identified by the cross section excess relative to predictions for ${\nu }_{\mu }$-nucleus scattering that are constrained by a data control sample. Models for 2-particle-2-hole processes are rated by ${\chi }^2$comparisons of the predicted-versus-measured ${\nu }_{\mu }$CC inclusive cross section over the full phase space and in the restricted subdomain. Shortfalls are observed in neutrino generator predictions obtained using the theory-based València and SuSAv2 2p2h models. Published by the American Physical Society2025 

We report a search for neutrino oscillations to sterile neutrinos under a model with three active and one sterile neutrinos ( $3+1$model). This analysis uses the NOvA detectors exposed to the NuMI beam, running in neutrino mode. The data exposure, $13.6\times {10}^{20}$protons on target, doubles that previously analyzed by NOvA, and the analysis is the first to use ${\nu }_{\mu }$charged-current interactions in conjunction with neutral-current interactions. Neutrino samples in the near and far detectors are fitted simultaneously, enabling the search to be carried out over a $\mathrm{\Delta }{m}_{41}^2$range extending 2 (3) orders of magnitude above (below) $1{\mathrm{eV}}^2$. NOvA finds no evidence for active-to-sterile neutrino oscillations under the $3+1$model at 90% confidence level. New limits are reported in multiple regions of parameter space, excluding some regions currently allowed by IceCube at 90% confidence level. We additionally set the most stringent limits for anomalous ${\nu }_{\tau }$appearance for $\mathrm{\Delta }{m}_{41}^2\le 3{\mathrm{eV}}^2$. Published by the American Physical Society2025 

Abstract Measuring observables to constrain models using maximum-likelihood estimation is fundamental to many physics experiments. Wilks' theorem provides a simple way to construct confidence intervals on model parameters, but it only applies under certain conditions. These conditions, such as nested hypotheses and unbounded parameters, are often violated in neutrino oscillation measurements and other experimental scenarios. Monte Carlo methods can address these issues, albeit at increased computational cost. In the presence of nuisance parameters, however, the best way to implement a Monte Carlo method is ambiguous. This paper documents the method selected by the NOvA experiment, the profile construction. It presents the toy studies that informed the choice of method, details of its implementation, and tests performed to validate it. It also includes some practical considerations which may be of use to others choosing to use the profile construction. 

The 2x2 Demonstrator, a prototype for the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) liquid argon (LAr) Near Detector, was exposed to the Neutrinos from the Main Injector (NuMI) neutrino beam at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab). This detector is a prototype of a new modular design for a liquid argon time-projection chamber (LArTPC), comprising a two-by-two array of four modules, each further segmented into two optically isolated LArTPCs. The 2x2 Demonstrator features a number of pioneering technologies, including a low-profile resistive field shell to establish drift fields, native 3D ionization pixelated imaging, and a high-coverage dielectric light readout system. The 2.4-tonne active mass detector is flanked upstream and downstream by supplemental solid-scintillator tracking planes, repurposed from the MINERvA experiment, which track ionizing particles exiting the argon volume. The antineutrino beam data collected by the detector over a 4.5 day period in 2024 include over 30,000 neutrino interactions in the LAr active volume—the first neutrino interactions reported by a DUNE detector prototype. During its physics-quality run, the 2x2 Demonstrator operated at a nominal drift field of 500 V/cm and maintained good LAr purity, with a stable electron lifetime of approximately 1.25 ms. This paper describes the detector and supporting systems, summarizes the installation and commissioning, and presents the initial validation of collected NuMI beam and off-beam self-triggers. In addition, it highlights observed interactions in the detector volume, including candidate muon antineutrino events. 

The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) is a next-generation neutrino experiment with a rich physics program that includes searches for the hypothetical phenomenon of proton decay. Utilizing liquid-argon time-projection chamber technology, DUNE is expected to achieve world-leading sensitivity in the proton decay channels that involve charged kaons in their final states. The first DUNE demonstrator, ProtoDUNE Single-Phase, was a 0.77 kt detector that operated from 2018 to 2020 at the CERN Neutrino Platform, exposed to a mixed hadron and electron test-beam with momenta ranging from 0.3 to $7\mathrm{GeV}/\mathrm{c}$. We present a selection of low-energy kaons among the secondary particles produced in hadronic reactions, using data from the 6 and $7\mathrm{GeV}/\mathrm{c}$beam runs. The selection efficiency is 1% and the sample purity 92%. The initial energies of the selected kaon candidates encompass the expected energy range of kaons originating from proton decay events in DUNE (below $\sim 200\mathrm{MeV}$). In addition, we demonstrate the capability of this detector technology to discriminate between kaons and other particles such as protons and muons, and provide a comprehensive description of their energy loss in liquid argon, which shows good agreement with the simulation. These results pave the way for future proton decay searches at DUNE. 

This Letter reports a search for charge-parity ( $CP$) symmetry violating nonstandard interactions (NSI) of neutrinos with matter using the NOvA Experiment, and examines their effects on the determination of the standard oscillation parameters. Data from ${\nu }_{\mu }\left({\overline{\nu }}_{\mu }\right)\to {\nu }_{\mu }\left({\overline{\nu }}_{\mu }\right)$and ${\nu }_{\mu }\left({\overline{\nu }}_{\mu }\right)\to {\nu }_e\left({\overline{\nu }}_e\right)$oscillation channels are used to measure the effect of the NSI parameters ${ϵ}_{e\mu }$and ${ϵ}_{e\tau }$. With 90% CL the magnitudes of the NSI couplings are constrained to be $\left|{ϵ}_{e\mu }\right|\lesssim 0.3$and $\left|{ϵ}_{e\tau }\right|\lesssim 0.4$. A degeneracy at $\left|{ϵ}_{e\tau }\right|\approx 1.8$is reported, and we observe that the presence of NSI limits sensitivity to the standard $CP$phase ${\delta }_{CP}$. Published by the American Physical Society2024 

NOvA is a long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment that measures oscillations in charged-current ${\nu }_{\mu }\to {\nu }_{\mu }$(disappearance) and ${\nu }_{\mu }\to {\nu }_e$(appearance) channels, and their antineutrino counterparts, using neutrinos of energies around 2 GeV over a distance of 810 km. In this work we reanalyze the dataset first examined in our previous paper [] using an alternative statistical approach based on Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo. We measure oscillation parameters consistent with the previous results. We also extend our inferences to include the first NOvA measurements of the reactor mixing angle ${\theta }_{13}$, where we find $0.071\le {\sin }^{2}2{\theta }_{13}\le 0.107$, and the Jarlskog invariant, where we observe no significant preference for the $CP$-conserving value $J=0$over values favoring $CP$violation. We use these results to examine the effects of constraints from short-baseline measurements of ${\theta }_{13}$using antineutrinos from nuclear reactors when making NOvA measurements of ${\theta }_{23}$. Our long-baseline measurement of ${\theta }_{13}$is shown to be consistent with the reactor measurements, supporting the general applicability and robustness of the Pontecorvo-Maki-Nakagawa-Sakata framework for neutrino oscillations. Published by the American Physical Society2024 

Abstract Liquid argon time projection chambers (LArTPCs) rely on highly pure argon to ensure that ionization electrons produced by charged particles reach readout arrays. ProtoDUNE Single-Phase (ProtoDUNE-SP) was an approximately 700-ton liquid argon detector intended to prototype the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) Far Detector Horizontal Drift module. It contains two drift volumes bisected by the cathode plane assembly, which is biased to create an almost uniform electric field in both volumes. The DUNE Far Detector modules must have robust cryogenic systems capable of filtering argon and supplying the TPC with clean liquid. This paper will explore comparisons of the argon purity measured by the purity monitors with those measured using muons in the TPC from October 2018 to November 2018. A new method is introduced to measure the liquid argon purity in the TPC using muons crossing both drift volumes of ProtoDUNE-SP. For extended periods on the timescale of weeks, the drift electron lifetime was measured to be above 30 ms using both systems. A particular focus will be placed on the measured purity of argon as a function of position in the detector.