Single neutral pion production by charged-current $\barν_μ$ interactions on hydrocarbon at $\langle E_ν\rangle = $ 3.6 GeV

Abstract

Single neutral pion production via muon antineutrino charged-current interactions in plastic scintillator (CH) is studied using the \minerva detector exposed to the NuMI low-energy, wideband antineutrino beam at Fermilab. Measurement of this process constrains models of neutral pion production in nuclei, which is important because the neutral-current analog is a background for $\barν_e$ appearance oscillation experiments. The differential cross sections for $π^0$ momentum and production angle, for events with a single observed $π^0$ and no charged pions, are presented and compared to model predictions. These results comprise the first measurement of the $π^0$ kinematics for this process.

6 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Physics Letters B