Configuring the Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment

TL;DR

This paper evaluates different configurations of the Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment, comparing the impact of near detectors, underground placement, and atmospheric neutrino data on its sensitivity to key neutrino physics parameters.

Contribution

It provides a comparative analysis of LBNE configurations, highlighting the benefits of near detectors and underground placement for neutrino oscillation measurements.

Findings

Near detectors significantly improve CP violation sensitivity with increased exposure.

Atmospheric neutrino data offers comparable sensitivity to the mass hierarchy and octant.

Configurations with a surface detector plus near detector perform similarly to underground detectors without near detectors.

Abstract

We study the neutrino oscillation physics performance of the Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment (LBNE) in various configurations. In particular, we compare the case of a surface detector at the far site augmented by a near detector, to that with the far site detector placed deep underground but no near detector. In the latter case, information from atmospheric neutrino events is also utilized. For values of \theta_{13} favored by reactor experiments and a 100 kt-yr exposure, we find roughly equivalent sensitivities to the neutrino mass hierarchy, the octant of \theta_{23}, and to CP violation. We also find that as the exposure is increased, the near detector helps increase the sensitivity to CP violation substantially more than atmospheric neutrinos.