First Run of the LArIAT Testbeam Experiment

TL;DR

This paper reports on the initial run of the LArIAT experiment, which tests a liquid argon TPC's response to particles from a controlled beam at Fermilab, aiming to improve neutrino detection techniques.

Contribution

It presents the first experimental data from LArIAT, demonstrating the setup and initial results for particle response characterization in liquid argon detectors.

Findings

Data collected on electron recombination behavior

Insights into shower reconstruction and particle ID

Initial understanding of pion and kaon interactions in argon

Abstract

LArIAT (Liquid Argon In A Testbeam) aims to characterize the response of a liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) to the particles often seen as final-state products of ~1 GeV neutrino interactions in existing and planned detectors. The experiment uses the ArgoNeuT cryostat and its refurbished 170-liter-active-volume TPC placed in a tunable tertiary beamline produced from a high-energy pion beam at the Fermilab Test Beam Facility (FTBF). The TPC was modified to accommodate cold readout electronics and a light collection system. The first run took place May-June of 2015, and the collected data will help in understanding electron recombination behavior, shower reconstruction, particle identification, muon sign determination, pion and kaon interactions in argon, and the use of scintillation light for calorimetry.