Constraining Muon Internal Bremsstrahlung as a Contribution to the MiniBooNE Low Energy Excess

Abstract

Using a cleanly tagged data sample of $ν_μ$ charged current events, it is demonstrated that the rate at which such events are mis-identified as $ν_e$'s is accurately simulated in the MiniBooNE $ν_μ\to ν_e$ analysis. Such mis-identification, which could arise from muon internal bremsstrahlung, is decisively ruled out as a source of the low energy electron-like events reported in the MiniBooNE search for $ν_μ\to ν_e$ oscillations. This refutes the conclusions of a recent paper which postulates that hard bremsstrahlung could form a substantial background to the MiniBooNE $ν_e$ sample.

3 pages, 3 figures. Response to arXiv:0709.4004 [hep-ex]. Submitted to Phys. Rev. D (Brief Reports)