Introduction
ArgoNeuT is a joint NSF/DOE R&D project at Fermilab to expose a small scale Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber to the NuMI neutrino beam. The project is presently under construction at Fermilab, with data taking expected in September.
Liquid Argon detectors are an exciting class of neutrino experiments because they can provide bubble chamber quality images and excellent background rejection. In these detectors, neutrinos passing through a large volume of argon can interact with an argon atom, producing light and ionization particles. An electric field within the detector causes these charged particles to drift through the volume of argon, producing further ionization electrons as they drift. The ionized particles are collected at wire planes which, in ArgoNeuT, will have 4 mm pitch. Measuring the signals created in the wires, of which there are 480 in ArgoNeuT, allows for possibility of reconstructing the event. The position of the wires within the wireplanes, timing from scintillation light or elsewhere, and the knowledge of the drift velocity of the ionization particles provides all the information needed for 3-d reconstruction.
By utilizing the NuMI (Neutrinos at the Main Injector) beam, ArgoNeut will supply valuable information about both low energy neutrino interactions and underground detector operations. The NuMI beam passes through the MINOS near and far detectors, positioned at 1 km and 735 km from the target at Fermilab. ArgoNeuT will sit upstream of the MINOS near detector at Fermilab, allowing for calibrations via muons that will traverse the TPC and penetrate several layers into MINOS. By taking measurements in the .1 to 10 GeV range, ArgoNeuT will produce the first ever data for low energy neutrino interactions within a LArTPC, providing a necessary next step for construction of larger detectors. ArgoNeuT will also serve as a stepping stone to larger detectors by giving experience in operating underground argon recirculation, trigger, and readout systems.
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