Deployment of Water-based Liquid Scintillator in the Accelerator Neutrino Neutron Interaction Experiment

TL;DR

This paper reports the deployment of water-based liquid scintillator in the ANNIE neutrino detector, demonstrating simultaneous detection of Cherenkov and scintillation light, which advances detector technology for neutrino physics research.

Contribution

It introduces the first deployment of WbLS in ANNIE and confirms its capability to detect both light types, enabling new analysis techniques.

Findings

Successful deployment of 366L WbLS vessel in ANNIE

Detection of both Cherenkov and scintillation light from WbLS

Foundation for future particle identification and analysis methods

Abstract

The Accelerator Neutrino Neutron Interaction Experiment (ANNIE) is a 26-ton water Cherenkov neutrino detector installed on the Booster Neutrino Beam (BNB) at Fermilab. Its main physics goals are to perform a measurement of the neutron yield from neutrino-nucleus interactions, as well as a measurement of the charged-current cross section of muon neutrinos. An equally important focus is placed on the research and development of new detector technologies and target media. Specifically water-based liquid scintillator (WbLS) is of interest as a novel detector medium, as it allows for the simultaneous detection of scintillation and Cherenkov light. This paper presents the deployment of a 366L WbLS vessel in ANNIE in March 2023 and the subsequent detection of both Cherenkov light and scintillation from the WbLS. This proof-of-concept allows for the future development of reconstruction and particle identification algorithms in ANNIE, as well as dedicated analyses, such as the search for neutral current events and the hadronic scintillation component within the WbLS volume.