English

Low energy calibration in DUNE far detector prototypes

High Energy Physics - Experiment 2025-05-26 v1 Instrumentation and Detectors

Abstract

The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) is a next-generation long-baseline neutrino experiment. In addition to GeV-scale oscillation measurements (δCP\delta_{CP}, θ23\theta_{23} octant, mass ordering), DUNE features a low-energy (MeV-scale) program targeting solar, supernova burst (SNB), and Diffuse Supernova Background (DSNB) neutrinos. Accurate reconstruction and background understanding are critical. 39^{39}Ar β\beta-decays, naturally present in LAr, provide a uniform background and can be used for calibration. This proceeding presents an analysis of isolated MeV-scale energy deposits in the ProtoDUNE-HD (PDHD) prototype. Using cosmic + beam data (run 28086), we analyze energy spectra and spatial distributions of 39^{39}Ar, 232^{232}Th, and 207^{207}Bi. A calibration factor cA=(3.9±0.3)×102 MeV/ADC×tickc_A = (3.9 \pm 0.3)\times 10^{-2}~\text{MeV}/\text{ADC} \times \text{tick} and recombination factor R=0.60±0.05R = 0.60 \pm 0.05 are extracted, consistent with expectations. The 207^{207}Bi source is spatially resolved with cm-level precision, and 232^{232}Th hot spots align with the field cage structure, offering further calibration potential. These results demonstrate PDHD capability for MeV-scale reconstruction, supporting DUNE low-energy physics goals.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2505.18073,
  title  = {Low energy calibration in DUNE far detector prototypes},
  author = {Emile Lavaut},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2505.18073},
  year   = {2025}
}

Comments

4 pages, 9 figures, 59th Rencontres de Moriond proceeding

R2 v1 2026-07-01T02:34:15.325Z