Multi-ring signatures of the oscillation nu_mu --> nu_e in a water Cherenkov detector

TL;DR

This paper develops multiring detection signatures for muon neutrino to electron neutrino oscillations in water Cherenkov detectors, focusing on high energies to explore matter effects and determine the mass hierarchy.

Contribution

It introduces a new multiring signature method for identifying oscillation events at energies above 2 GeV in water Cherenkov detectors.

Findings

Multiring signatures effectively identify nu_mu to nu_e oscillations.

Method emphasizes matter effects at energies over 2 GeV.

Potential to measure the sign of atmospheric mass-squared difference.

Abstract

Multiring signatures of the oscillation nu_mu --> nu_e are formulated for a water Cherenkov detector. These are appropriate for relatively high neutrino energies (over 2 GeV) that emphasize the matter effect and, therefore, may allow to measure the sign of the atmospheric mass-squared difference.