Track reconstruction in the emulsion-lead target of the OPERA experiment using the ESS microscope

TL;DR

This paper discusses the development and performance of the European Scanning System, an automatic microscope designed for fast, precise particle track reconstruction in the OPERA neutrino experiment's emulsion target.

Contribution

It introduces the European Scanning System, a novel microscope capable of high-speed, high-precision track reconstruction for neutrino interaction analysis.

Findings

Achieved a reconstruction speed of 20 cm^2/h.

Demonstrated sub-micron precision in particle track measurement.

Validated the system's efficiency for real-time neutrino interaction analysis.

Abstract

The OPERA experiment, designed to conclusively prove the existence of $\rm \nu_\mu \to \nu_\tau$ oscillations in the atmospheric sector, makes use of a massive lead-nuclear emulsion target to observe the appearance of $\rm \nu_\tau$'s in the CNGS $\rm \nu_\mu$ beam. The location and analysis of the neutrino interactions in quasi real-time required the development of fast computer-controlled microscopes able to reconstruct particle tracks with sub-micron precision and high efficiency at a speed of 20 cm^2 / h. This paper describes the performance in particle track reconstruction of the European Scanning System, a novel automatic microscope for the measurement of emulsion films developed for OPERA.