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Abratenko, P. [Tufts U.]

Publications and source records attributed to Abratenko, P. [Tufts U.].

5 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2026

Characterizing the energy resolution of the MicroBooNE LArTPC at the MeV scale using monoenergetic features of $^{208}$Tl decays

A detailed understanding of the capabilities and fidelity of low-energy reconstruction is crucial for taking advantage of MeV-scale neutrino physics opportunities in liquid argon time projection chambers (LArTPCs). This study presents a measurement of the resolution of reconstructed energy in the MicroBooNE LArTPC at $\approx 1.5$ MeV. The characterization is performed using monoenergetic signals generated by $2.614$ MeV $γ$-rays from $^{208}$Tl decays undergoing pair production in the detector. The resolution is found to be ($7.52 \pm 0.78 \text{(stat)} \pm 0.92 \text{(syst)}$)%. This value is consistent with the MicroBooNE simulation prediction of ($9.70 \pm 0.65 \text{(stat)}$)% at the $1.6 σ$ level. This study represents the first ever measurement of LArTPC energy resolution at the MeV scale and provides a pathway for monoenergetic energy calibrations in future experiments using LArTPC detectors.

Abratenko, P. [Tufts U.]↗
DOE OSTI2026

Enhanced Ionization Charge Identification in the Short-Baseline Neutrino Program Neutrino Detectors with Deep Neural Networks

We present a deep neural net-based region of interest detection method (DNN ROI) for signal processing in the liquid argon time projection chambers of the Short-Baseline Neutrino (SBN) Program, SBND and ICARUS. DNN ROI addresses limitations of the traditional wire-by-wire thresholding algorithm by leveraging the full two-dimensional detector readout and cross-plane matching information. To account for detector performance variations, we explore training with augmented samples. We find that DNN ROI outperforms the traditional method in both low-level ROI identification performance and high-level reconstruction metrics for high-energy cosmic and accelerator neutrino interaction products, while also being more robust against detector variations, with or without sample augmentation.

Abratenko, P. [Tufts U.]↗
DOE OSTI2026

Scintillation light calibrations, systematic uncertainties, and triggering efficiency in the MicroBooNE detector

Scintillation light, produced alongside ionisation charge from particle interactions, plays a critical role in liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) detectors. A detailed understanding of its production and detection mechanisms is essential for robust calibration, systematic uncertainty evaluation, and physics analysis. This article describes the MicroBooNE light simulation, light-based triggering schemes, photomultiplier tube gain calibration, light response stability, and light-based systematic uncertainties over the course of five years of data collection. In addition, we present a measurement of scintillation light triggering efficiency, focusing on the lowest-light regime relevant to rare-event searches and low-energy neutrino interactions. Finally, we discuss two notable observations in MicroBooNE's data, both reported here for the first time: an approximately 50% decline in MicroBooNE's light yield over time, concentrated in the first two years of running; and a higher than expected O(200 kHz) rate of single photoelectron noise. The results presented provide an important benchmark of long-term light detection performance in LArTPC neutrino detectors.

Abratenko, P. [Tufts U.]↗
DOE OSTI2026

First search for sterile neutrino oscillation leading to $ν_μ$ disappearance in the Booster Neutrino Beam at ICARUS

We present a search for muon neutrino disappearance in the Booster Neutrino Beam (BNB) at Fermilab using the ICARUS detector. Neutrino interactions identified as muon neutrinos interacting with argon nuclei via the charged current interaction and having only a muon and at least one proton in the final state (1$μ$Np) have been selected from data collected in 2022-2023 (ICARUS Run 2) and compared with a simulation-based expectation. In the context of a fit to a two-neutrino approximation of the sterile 3+1 model, including the impact of systematic uncertainty from the flux, neutrino interaction, and detector models, we find no statistically significant muon neutrino disappearance at the ICARUS baseline of 600 meters from the BNB target. Corresponding 90% C.L. exclusion contours in $Δm^2_{41}$ - sin$^22θ_{μμ}$ space are presented. This is the first oscillation analysis produced by ICARUS exposed to the BNB. We note that the analysis is systematics limited due to large unconstrained uncertainties from the flux and interaction models. In future joint analyses, data from ICARUS and the SBND detector, exposed to the BNB at 110 meters from target, will be combined to provide significant constraint of these uncertainties, enabling a robust, world-leading two-detector analysis.

Alrahman, F. Abd [Houston U.]↗