Abstract
The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) is a long baseline neutrino experiment hosted in theUSA consisting of a high-intensity neutrino beam, a near detector for precise measurement of the neutrino
flux, and a far detector comprising four 17.5 kton liquid argon time projection chambers. These will allow
DUNE to measure neutrino oscillations with unprecedented precision. A major systematic effect in the DUNE
neutrino oscillation measurement is the final state interactions of pions produced in the neutrino interaction.
By measuring pion argon cross sections, simulations of these final state interactions can be improved, allowing
for more accurate neutrino oscillation measurements in DUNE. Prototype far detectors hosted at CERN have
received beams of 0.3-7 GeV hadrons, and the resulting data is used in this thesis to measure pion argon
cross sections. Additionally, the DUNE Trigger and Data AcQuisition (TDAQ) system is being developed at
ProtoDUNE.
This thesis documents the development of the DUNE TDAQ readout system from 2021-2023, which ad-
opted the Front-End Link eXchange (FELIX) readout system from the ATLAS experiment and explored the
possibility of Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) trigger primitive generation. This thesis also presents
a novel method to simultaneously measure pion argon exclusive cross sections using a template-based likeli-
hood fit. The method was validated and used to measure said cross sections for pion kinetic energies between
1300 and 1900 MeV with ProtoDUNE. The measured cross sections integrated across the energy range are
250 ± 40 mb for absorption, 310 ± 40 mb for charge exchange, 510 ± 50 mb for single pion production, and
960 ± 50 mb for pion production. These measurements differ from the cross sections calculated by GEANT4
v10.6, which should prompt further work on the reconstruction and simulation used in the analysis.
| Date of Award | 10 Dec 2024 |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Awarding Institution |
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| Supervisor | Jim Brooke (Supervisor) & Jonas H Rademacker (Supervisor) |