Intrinsic limits on resolutions in muon- and electron-neutrino charged-current events in the KM3NeT/ORCA detector

• Published in: Journal of High Energy Physics
• Main Authors: Ageron, M., Aiello, G., Ameli, F, André, Michel
• Other Authors: Centre Tecnològic de Vilanova i la Geltrú, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. LAB - Laboratori d'Aplicacions Bioacústiques
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2017
• Subjects: Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Física::Astronomia i astrofísica; Neutrinos; Neutrino astrophysics; Astronomy > Observations; Neutrino Detectors and Telescopes (experiments); Neutrins; Astrofísica; Orca
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2117/105007; https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP05(2017)008

Studying atmospheric neutrino oscillations in the few-GeV range with a multi-megaton detector promises to determine the neutrino mass hierarchy. This is the main science goal pursued by the future KM3NeT/ORCA water Cherenkov detector in the Mediterranean Sea. In this paper, the processes that limit the obtainable resolution in both energy and direction in charged-current neutrino events in the ORCA detector are investigated. These processes include the composition of the hadronic fragmentation products, the subsequent particle propagation and the photon-sampling fraction of the detector. GEANT simulations of neutrino interactions in seawater produced by GENIE are used to study the effects in the 1-20 GeV range. It is found that fluctuations in the hadronic cascade in conjunction with the variation of the inelasticity y are most detrimental to the resolutions. The effect of limited photon sampling in the detector is of significantly less importance. These results will therefore also be applicable to similar detectors/media, such as those in ice. Postprint (author's final draft)