Status Update for the MINER$\nu$A Experiment

TL;DR

MINERνA is a neutrino experiment using a fine-grained detector to measure neutrino interactions, providing valuable data for neutrino oscillation research and nuclear structure studies since 2009.

Contribution

This paper provides an initial set of kinematic distributions and a status update on the MINERνA experiment, highlighting its capabilities and research goals.

Findings

Initial kinematic distributions of neutrino interactions

Status update on detector performance and data collection

Implications for neutrino oscillation and nuclear physics

Abstract

MINER$\nu$A (Main INjEctoR $\nu$-A) is a few-GeV neutrino cross section experiment that began taking data in the FNAL NuMI beam-line in the fall of 2009. MINER$\nu$A employs a fine-grained detector capable of complete kinematic characterization of neutrino interactions. The detector consists of an approximately 6.5 ton active target region composed of plastic scintillator with additional carbon, iron, and lead targets upstream of the active region. The experiment will provide important inputs for neutrino oscillation searches and a pure weak probe of nuclear structure. Here we offer a set of initial kinematic distributions of interest and provide a general status update.