View source for Astronomy:MINERνA

{{Short description|Neutrino scattering experiment at Fermilab in Illinois, USA}}
{{Infobox telescope |website=https://minerva.fnal.gov}}

'''Main Injector Experiment for ν-A''', or '''MINERνA''', is a [[Physics:Neutrino|neutrino]] scattering experiment which uses the [[Physics:NuMI|NuMI]] [[Physics:Accelerator neutrino|beamline]] at [[Organization:Fermilab|Fermilab]].  MINERνA seeks to measure low energy neutrino interactions both in support of [[Physics:Neutrino oscillation|neutrino oscillation]] experiments and also to study the strong dynamics of the [[Physics:Nucleon|nucleon]] and [[Physics:Atomic nucleus|nucleus]] that affect these interactions.<ref name="minervaweb">[http://minerva.fnal.gov/ MINERνA home page] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071006072426/http://minerva.fnal.gov/ |date=2007-10-06 }}, retrieved 5 Oct 2007</ref>

== Name ==

MINERvA's name combines several things. "MI" stands for the Main Injector, a [[Organization:Fermilab|Fermilab]] accelerator that provides high-energy protons which are targeted to create the neutrino beam. "NER" comes from "Neutrino ExpeRiment." The conventional symbol for the neutrino is the Greek letter nu, which resembles a lowercase "v". Finally, "A" represents the [[Chemistry:Mass number|mass number]] of the target material. MINERvA studies neutrino interactions with several materials, in particular helium, carbon, iron or lead, each having a different value of A. 
 
Physicists describe these interactions where a neutrino collides with a nucleus as a "nu-A interaction," but spell MINERvA with a Roman "v" and pronounce it with a "v". The name also evokes Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom.<ref name="MINERvA Name">
{{cite web 
| url=https://news.fnal.gov/2016/09/providing-precise-neutrino-measurements-minerva/ 
| title=Providing precise neutrino measurements with MINERvA 
| author= Michelle Mo
| accessdate=2023-01-24 
| date=2016-09-08 
| publisher=Fermilab 
}}
</ref>

== Status ==

The experiment that became MINERvA was proposed to Fermilab by two separate groups in 2002.<ref name="ref1">
{{cite journal
| last1      = Buongiorno
| first1     = Caitlyn
| date       = April 5, 2019
| title      = MINERvA Successfully Completes Its Physics Run
| url        = https://news.fnal.gov/2019/04/minerva-successfully-completes-its-physics-run/
| journal    =
| volume     =
| issue      =
| pages      =
| doi        =
| access-date =
}}
</ref> MINERvA's detector was assembled 107 meters underground, in a portion of the same hall that housed the Near Detector of the [[Physics:MINOS|MINOS]] experiment. The first detector module was completed in early 2006,<ref name="minervaweb" /> and the first events were observed by the partially assembled detector in April 2009.<ref name="1stlight">
{{cite news 
| first=Rhianna 
| last=Wisniewski 
| title=MINERvA opens eyes to neutrino data 
| date=2009-04-03 
| url=http://www.fnal.gov/pub/today/archive_2009/today09-04-03.html 
| work=Fermilab Today 
| accessdate=2010-06-11 
| archive-date=2011-06-09 
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609205105/http://www.fnal.gov/pub/today/archive_2009/today09-04-03.html 
| url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="MINERvA_Sees">
{{cite web 
| url=http://minerva.fnal.gov/news/MINERvA-Sees/minerva-sees.html 
| title=MINERvA Sees! 
| accessdate=2010-06-11 
| date=2009-04-01 
| publisher=MINERvA at Fermilab 
| url-status=dead 
| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527205755/http://minerva.fnal.gov//news/MINERvA-Sees/minerva-sees.html 
| archivedate=2010-05-27 }}
</ref> MINERvA started taking data regularly in November 2009 with a partially complete detector, and started taking data with the full detector in March 2010.<ref name="Intensity_Frontier_2010">
{{cite web 
| url=http://www.fnal.gov/pub/science/experiments/intensity/minerva.html 
| title=Intensity Frontier 
| accessdate=2010-06-11 
| date=2010-03-24 
| publisher=[[Organization:Fermilab|Fermilab]] 
| archive-date=2010-05-28 
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100528024949/http://www.fnal.gov/pub/science/experiments/intensity/minerva.html 
| url-status=live }}</ref>

At times, the NuMI beamline would provide either neutrino or antineutrino beams, tuned to particular energies.  MINERvA acquired data in both a low energy (peaked at ~2.5 GeV) tune and a medium energy (peaked at ~6 GeV) tune.<ref name="ref2">
{{cite journal
| last1      = Aliaga Soplin
| first1     = Leonidas 
| date       = March 2016
| title      = Neutrino Flux Prediction for the NuMI Beamline
| url        = https://lss.fnal.gov/archive/thesis/2000/fermilab-thesis-2016-03.pdf
| journal    = 
| volume     = 
| issue      = 
| pages      = 
| doi        = 
| access-date = 
}}
</ref> The physics run was completed in February 2019.<ref name="ref1" /> Years of data analysis have followed.

Approximately 65 scientists collaborate on MINERvA.<ref name="MINERvA Collaboration">
{{cite web 
| url=https://minerva.fnal.gov/collaboration/
| title=Collaboration 
| publisher= MINERvA Collaboration
| accessdate=2023-01-24  
}}
</ref> As of the end of 2022, 51 students had earned their [[Ph.D.]]s for MINERvA-related work, and 32 students had earned Master's Degrees.  The scientific co-spokespersons of the MINERvA experiment are Prof. Laura Fields of University of Notre Dame and Prof. Deborah Harris of York University.<ref name="ref1" />

== Detector ==

[[File:MINERvA neutrino detector diagram, front view and side view.png|thumb|Diagram of neutrino detector in the MINERvA experiment. Left, front view of a single detector module. Right, elevation view of complete detector.]]The detector used for the MINERνA experiment is made of many layers of parallel [[Physics:Scintillator|scintillator]] strips.<ref name="original6">
{{Cite web|url=http://www.fnal.gov/pub/today/archive_2006/today06-02-15.html
|title=Fermilab Today
|access-date=2011-02-09|archive-date=2011-06-09
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609194738/http://www.fnal.gov/pub/today/archive_2006/today06-02-15.html
|url-status=live}}
</ref> Each strip is connected to a [[Physics:Photomultiplier tube|photomultiplier tube]] which is used to detect the amount of energy deposited into the strip. The orientation of the strips varies from layer to layer so that three-dimensional information about where particles interact with the strip can be determined.  The detector consists of a middle region, the active tracker, which is made of just the scintillator strips, and is surrounded by scintillator strips interspersed with lead and iron absorbers to provide surrounding [[Physics:Calorimeter (particle physics)|calorimetry]].  Upstream of the active tracker is a nuclear target region of scintillator strips in which passive targets of liquid [[Chemistry:Helium|helium]], [[Chemistry:Carbon|carbon]], [[Chemistry:Water|water]], [[Chemistry:Iron|iron]], and [[Chemistry:Lead|lead]] are interspersed in order to allow comparisons of interactions of neutrinos in different materials.<ref>
{{cite journal
| last1      = L. Aliaga |display-authors=et al |collaboration=MINERvA Collaboration 
| date       = 11 April 2014
| title      = Design, calibration, and performance of the MINERvA detector
| url        = https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2013.12.053
| journal    = Nuclear Instruments and Methods
| volume     = 743
| issue      = 
| pages      = 130–159
| doi        = 10.1016/j.nima.2013.12.053
| arxiv      = 1305.5199 
|bibcode=2014NIMPA.743..130A | s2cid = 119222851
| access-date = 
}}
</ref>

== Scientific Results ==

MINERvA has published results on a wide variety of topics related to neutrino [[Physics:Cross section|interactions]] and on other aspects of [[Physics:Accelerator neutrino|accelerator neutrino]] experiments.

=== Neutrino Flux Measurements ===
In order to measure neutrino interaction probabilities, MINERvA has needed to precisely understand the flux of incoming neutrinos.  Through techniques such as studying the precisely predicted but rare interactions of neutrinos on atomic electrons,<ref name="ref5">
{{cite journal
| last1      = J. Park |display-authors=et al |collaboration=MINERvA Collaboration 
| date       = 10 June 2016
| title      = Measurement of Neutrino Flux from Neutrino-Electron Elastic Scattering
| url        = https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.93.112007
| journal    = Physical Review D 
| volume     = 93
| issue      = 11
| page = 112007
| doi        = 10.1103/PhysRevD.93.112007
| arxiv      = 1512.07699
|bibcode=2016PhRvD..93k2007P | s2cid = 56027581
| access-date = 
}}
</ref><ref name="ref6">
{{cite journal
| last1      = E. Valencia |last2=D. Jena |last3=Nuruzzaman |display-authors=et al |collaboration=MINERvA Collaboration 
| date       = 5 November 2019
| title      = Constraint of the MINERvA medium energy neutrino flux using neutrino-electron elastic scattering
| url        = https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.100.092001
| journal    = Physical Review D 
| volume     = 100
| issue      = 1
| page = 092001
| doi        = 10.1103/PhysRevD.100.092001
| arxiv      = 1906.00111
|bibcode=2019PhRvD.100i2001V | s2cid = 173990831
| access-date = 
}}
</ref><ref name="ref7">
{{cite journal
| last1      = D. Ruterbories |display-authors=et al |collaboration=MINERvA Collaboration 
| date       = 23 November 2021
| title      = Constraint of the MINERvA medium energy neutrino flux using neutrino-electron elastic scattering
| url        = https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.104.092010 
| journal    = Physical Review D 
| volume     = 104
| issue      = 9
| page = 092010
| doi        = 10.1103/PhysRevD.104.092010 
| arxiv      = 2107.01059
| s2cid = 235727354
| access-date = 
}}
</ref><ref name="ref8">
{{cite journal
| last1      = L. Zazueta |display-authors=et al |collaboration=MINERvA Collaboration 
| date       = 11 January 2023
| title      = Constraint of the MINERvA medium energy neutrino flux using neutrino-electron elastic scattering
| url        = https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.107.012001
| journal    = Physical Review D 
| volume     = 107
| issue      = 1
| pages      = 
| doi        = 10.1103/PhysRevD.107.012001
| arxiv      = 2209.05540
| s2cid = 255799302
| access-date = 
}}
</ref> improving the simulation of the production of neutrinos in the beamline,<ref name="ref9">
{{cite journal
| last1      = L. Aliaga |display-authors=et al |collaboration=MINERvA Collaboration 
| date       = 29 November 2016
| title      = Neutrino Flux Predictions for the NuMI Beam
| url        = https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.94.092005 
| journal    = Physical Review D 
| volume     = 94
| issue      = 9
| page = 092005
| doi        = 10.1103/PhysRevD.94.092005 
| arxiv      = 1607.00704
|bibcode=2016PhRvD..94i2005A | s2cid = 118645911
| access-date = 
}}
</ref><ref name="ref9addendum">
{{cite journal
| last1      = L. Aliaga |display-authors=et al |collaboration=MINERvA Collaboration 
| date       = 15 February 2017
| title      = Neutrino Flux Predictions for the NuMI Beam
| url        = https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.95.039903
| journal    = Physical Review D 
| volume     = 95
| issue      = 3
| pages      = 
| doi        = 10.1103/PhysRevD.95.039903  
| arxiv      = 
| access-date = 
| doi-access= free
}}
</ref> and studying the most [[Physics:Elastic scattering|elastic interactions]] of neutrinos,<ref name="ref10">
{{cite journal
| last1      = A. Bashyal |last2=B. Messerly |last3=D. Rimal |display-authors=et al |collaboration=MINERvA Collaboration 
| date       = 31 August 2021
| title      = Use of Neutrino Scattering Events with Low Hadronic Recoil to Inform Neutrino Flux and Detector Energy Scale
| url        = https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-0221/16/08/P08068   
| journal    = Journal of Instrumentation
| volume     = 16
| issue      = P08068
| pages      = P08068
| doi        = 10.1088/1748-0221/16/08/P08068 
| arxiv      = 2104.05769
|bibcode=2021JInst..16P8068B | s2cid = 233219972
| access-date = 
}}
</ref> MINERvA has been able to predict its flux with a fractional [[Measurement uncertainty|uncertainty]] of approximately 4%.<ref name="ref8"/>  MINERvA's techniques provide a proof of principle for applications expected to result in higher precision in future experiments.<ref>
{{cite journal
| last1      = Chris M. Marshall |last2=Kevin S. McFarland |last3=Callum Wilkinson
| date       = 5 February 2020
| title      = Neutrino-electron elastic scattering for flux determination at the DUNE oscillation experiment
| url        = https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.101.032002  
| journal    = Physical Review D 
| volume     = 101
| issue      = 3
| page = 032002
| doi        = 10.1103/PhysRevD.101.032002  
| arxiv      = 1910.10996
|bibcode=2020PhRvD.101c2002M | s2cid = 204852042
| access-date = 
}}
</ref>

=== Charged-Current Quasielastic-like Reactions ===
MINERvA has extensively studied [[Physics:Charged current|charged-current]] [[Physics:Quasielastic scattering|quasielastic-]]like reactions. In such reactions, one or more nucleons are knocked out of a [[Physics:Atomic nucleus|nucleus]] by a neutrino as the [[Physics:Muon neutrino|muon neutrino]] or [[Physics:Muon antineutrino|muon antineutrino]] is transformed into a [[Physics:Muon|muon]] or antimuon.  MINERvA's first scientific results measured the rate of these processes in correlation with the visible energy from knocked-out protons. They suggested that about 20% of the quasielastic-like rate on carbon was from events in which multiple nucleons were ejected.<ref name="refArturo">
{{cite journal
| last1      = G.A. Fiorentini |last2=D.W. Schmitz |last3=P.A. Rodrigues |display-authors=et al |collaboration=MINERvA Collaboration
| date       = 11 July 2013
| title      = Measurement of Muon Neutrino Quasielastic Scattering on a Hydrocarbon Target at Neutrino Energy ~3.5 GeV
| url        = https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.111.022502  
| journal    = Physical Review Letters 
| volume     = 111
| issue      = 2
| page = 022502
| doi        = 10.1103/PhysRevLett.111.022502    
|pmid=23889389
| arxiv      = 1305.2243
| s2cid = 1979136
| access-date = 
}}
</ref><ref name="nameJesse">
{{cite journal
| last1      = L. Fields |last2=J. Chvojka |display-authors=et al |collaboration=MINERvA Collaboration
| date       = 11 July 2013
| title      = Measurement of Muon Antineutrino Quasielastic Scattering on a Hydrocarbon Target at Neutrino Energy ~3.5 GeV
| url        = https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.111.022501  
| journal    = Physical Review Letters 
| volume     = 111
| issue      = 2
| page = 022501
| doi        = 10.1103/PhysRevLett.111.022501    
| pmid = 23889388
| arxiv      =  1305.2234
| s2cid = 52798647
| access-date = 
}}
</ref>  This technique{{mdash}}correlating the observed muon either with the total observed energy,<ref name="refPhil">
{{cite journal
| last1      = P.A. Rodrigues |display-authors=et al |collaboration=MINERvA Collaboration
| date       = 17 February 2016
| title      = Identification of nuclear effects in neutrino-carbon interactions at low three-momentum transfer
| url        = https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.071802 
| journal    = Physical Review Letters 
| volume     = 116
| issue      = 7
| page = 071802
| doi        = 10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.071802 
| pmid = 26943528
| arxiv      = 1511.05944
|bibcode=2016PhRvL.116g1802R | s2cid = 16223336
| access-date = 
}}
</ref><ref name="refPhilAddendum">
{{cite journal
| last1      = P.A. Rodrigues |display-authors=et al |collaboration=MINERvA Collaboration
| date       = 15 November 2018
| title      = Identification of nuclear effects in neutrino-carbon interactions at low three-momentum transfer (Addendum) 
| url        = https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.121.209902 
| journal    = Physical Review Letters 
| volume     = 121
| issue      = 20
|page=209902
| doi        = 10.1103/PhysRevLett.121.209902  
| pmid = 30500228
| arxiv      = 
| s2cid = 54479742
| access-date = 
| doi-access= free
}}
</ref><ref name="refMarvin">
{{cite journal
| last1      = M.V. Ascencio |last2=D. A. Andrade |last3=I. Mahbub |display-authors=et al |collaboration=MINERvA Collaboration
| date       = 1 August 2022
| title      = Measurement of inclusive charged-current ν<sub>μ</sub> scattering on hydrocarbon at ⟨E<sub>ν</sub>⟩ ~ 6 GeV with low three-momentum transfer
| url        = https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.106.032001
| journal    = Physical Review D 
| volume     = 106
| issue      = 3
|page=032001 | doi        = 10.1103/PhysRevD.106.032001 
| arxiv      = 2110.13372 
|bibcode=2022PhRvD.106c2001A | s2cid = 251271287
| access-date = 
}}
</ref><ref name="refRik">
{{cite journal
| last1      = R. Gran |last2=M. Betancourt |last3=M. Elkins |last4=P. A. Rodrigues |display-authors=et al |collaboration=MINERvA Collaboration
| date       = 1 June 2018
| title      = Antineutrino Charged-Current Reactions on Hydrocarbon with Low Momentum Transfer
| url        =https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.221805
| journal    = Physical Review Letters
| volume     = 120
| issue      = 22
| page = 221805
| doi        = 10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.221805
 | pmid = 29906174
| arxiv      = 1803.09377
|bibcode=2018PhRvL.120v1805G | s2cid = 49219090
| access-date = 
}}
</ref><ref name="refDan3D">
{{cite journal
| last1      = D. Ruterbories |display-authors=et al |collaboration=MINERvA Collaboration
| date       = 6 July 2022
| title      = Simultaneous Measurement of Proton and Lepton Kinematics in Quasielasticlike Muon Neutrino-Hydrocarbon Interactions from 2 to 20 GeV
| url        = https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.129.021803
| journal    = Physical Review Letters
| volume     = 129
| issue      = 2
| page =021803
| doi        = 10.1103/PhysRevLett.129.021803
| pmid =35867435
| arxiv      =  2203.08022 
| s2cid =250382173
| access-date = 
}}
</ref> or with an individual proton <ref name="refTammy">
{{cite journal
| last1      = T. Walton |last2=M. Betancourt |display-authors=et al |collaboration=MINERvA Collaboration
| date       = 1 April 2015
| title      = Measurement of muon plus proton final states in ν<sub>μ</sub> interactions on hydrocarbon at ⟨E<sub>ν</sub>⟩ = 4.2 GeV
| url        = https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.91.071301
| journal    = Physical Review D
| volume     = 91
| issue      = 7
| page =071301
| doi        = 10.1103/PhysRevD.91.071301
| arxiv      =  1409.4497
|bibcode=2015PhRvD..91g1301W | s2cid =118586597
| access-date = 
}}
</ref><ref name="refTammyNews">
{{cite journal
| last1      = Betancourt
| first1     = Minerba
| date       = May 16, 2014
| title      = A neutrino tale as told by a proton
| url        = https://news.fnal.gov/2014/05/a-neutrino-tale-as-told-by-a-proton/
| journal    = 
| volume     = 
| issue      = 
| pages      = 
| doi        = 
| access-date = 
}}
</ref><ref name="refXianguo">
{{cite journal
| last1      = X.G. Lu |last2=M. Betancourt |last3=T. Walton |display-authors=et al |collaboration=MINERvA Collaboration
| date       = 11 July 2018
| title      = Measurement of muon plus proton final states in ν<sub>μ</sub> interactions on hydrocarbon at ⟨E<sub>ν</sub>⟩ = 4.2 GeV
| url        = https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.121.022504
| journal    = Physical Review Letters
| volume     = 121
| issue      = 2
| page =022504
| doi        = 10.1103/PhysRevLett.121.022504
|pmid=30085714 | arxiv      =  1805.05486 
| s2cid =51942149
| access-date = 
}}
</ref><ref name="XianguoNews">
{{cite journal
| last1      = Lu
| first1     = Xianguo
| date       = February 4, 2019
| title      = CSI: Neutrinos Cast No Shadows
| url        = https://news.fnal.gov/2019/02/csi-neutrinos-cast-no-shadows/ 
| journal    = 
| volume     = 
| issue      = 
| pages      = 
| doi        = 
| access-date = 
}}
</ref> or neutron<ref name="refMiranda">
{{cite journal
| last1      = M. Elkins |last2=T. Cai |last3=J. Chaves |last4=J. Kleykamp |display-authors=et al |collaboration=MINERvA Collaboration
| date       = 5 September 2019
| title      =  Neutron measurements from antineutrino hydrocarbon reactions
| url        = https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.100.052002
| journal    = Physical Review D
| volume     = 100
| issue      = 5
| page =052002
| doi        = 10.1103/PhysRevD.100.052002
| arxiv      =  1901.04892 
|bibcode=2019PhRvD.100e2002E | s2cid =118944665
| access-date = 
}}
</ref><ref name="refNewsNeutron">
{{cite journal
| last1      = Hesla
| first1     = Leah
| date       = June 18, 2018
| title      = The secret to measuring the energy of an antineutrino
| url        = https://news.fnal.gov/2018/06/the-secret-to-measuring-the-energy-of-an-antineutrino/ 
| journal    = 
| volume     = 
| issue      = 
| pages      = 
| doi        = 
| access-date = 
}}
</ref>{{mdash}}has allowed MINERvA to infer the rate of these multinucleon processes and also to measure details of the [[Physics:Momentum|momentum]] and energy of the target nucleon before it is struck.<ref name="refTejin">
{{cite journal
| last1      = T. Cai |last2=X-G. Lu |last3=L.A. Harewood |last4=C. Wret |display-authors=et al |collaboration=MINERvA Collaboration
| date       = 1 May 2020 
| title      =  Nucleon binding energy and transverse momentum imbalance in neutrino-nucleus reactions
| url        = https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.101.092001
| journal    = Physical Review D
| volume     = 101
| issue      = 9
| page =092001
| doi        = 10.1103/PhysRevD.101.092001
| arxiv      =  1910.08658 
|bibcode=2020PhRvD.101i2001C | s2cid =204800786
| access-date = 
}}
</ref>

=== Production of Pions and Kaons ===
MINERvA has also measured production of charged and neutral pions in both neutrino and antineutrino scattering.<ref name="refJose">
{{cite journal
| last1      = T. Le |last2=J.L. Palomino |display-authors=et al |collaboration=MINERvA Collaboration
| date       = 7 October 2015 
| title      = Single neutral pion production by charged-current {{overline|ν}}<sub>μ</sub> interactions on hydrocarbon at ⟨E<sub>ν</sub>⟩ = 3.6 GeV 
| url        = https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physletb.2015.07.039
| journal    = Physics Letters B
| volume     = 749
| issue      = 
| pages      = 130–136
| doi        = 10.1016/j.physletb.2015.07.039
| arxiv      =  1503.02107
| s2cid =54211980
| access-date = 
}}
</ref><ref name="refOzgur">
{{cite journal
| last1      = O. Altinok |last2=T. Le |display-authors=et al |collaboration=MINERvA Collaboration
| date       = 17 October 2017 
| title      = Measurement of ν<sub>μ</sub> charged-current single π<sup>0</sup> production on hydrocarbon in the few-GeV region using MINERvA
| url        = https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.96.072003
| journal    = Physical Review D
| volume     = 96
| issue      = 7
| page =072003
| doi        = 10.1103/PhysRevD.96.072003
| arxiv      =  1708.03723
|bibcode=2017PhRvD..96g2003A | s2cid =118886611
| access-date = 
}}
</ref><ref name="refTrung">
{{cite journal
| last1      = T. Le |display-authors=et al |collaboration=MINERvA Collaboration
| date       = 16 September 2019 
| title      = Measurement of {{overline|ν<sub>μ</sub>}} charged-current single π<sup>−</sup> production on hydrocarbon in the few-GeV region using MINERvA
| url        = https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.100.052008
| journal    = Physical Review D
| volume     = 100
| issue      = 5
| page =052008
| doi        = 10.1103/PhysRevD.100.052008
| arxiv      =  1906.08300
| access-date = 
}}
</ref><ref name="refBrandon">
{{cite journal
| last1      = B. Eberly |display-authors=et al |collaboration=MINERvA Collaboration
| date       = 23 November 2015 
| title      = Charged Pion Production in ν<sub>μ</sub> Interactions on Hydrocarbon at ⟨E<sub>ν</sub>⟩ = 4.0GeV 
| url        = https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.92.092008
| journal    = Physical Review D
| volume     = 92
| issue      = 9
| page =092008
| doi        = 10.1103/PhysRevD.92.092008
| arxiv      =  1406.6415
|bibcode=2015PhRvD..92i2008E | s2cid =103918019
| access-date = 
}}
</ref><ref name="refCarrie">
{{cite journal
| last1      = C. L. McGivern |last2=T. Le |last3=B. Eberly |display-authors=et al |collaboration=MINERvA Collaboration
| date       = 6 September 2016 
| title      = Cross Sections for ν<sub>μ</sub> and {{overline|ν<sub>μ</sub>}} induced pion production on hydrocarbon in the few-GeV region using MINERvA
| url        = https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.94.052005
| journal    = Physical Review D
| volume     = 94
| issue      = 5
| page =052005
| doi        = 10.1103/PhysRevD.94.052005
| arxiv      =  1606.07127
| s2cid =88502408
| access-date = 
}}
</ref><ref name="refCarrieNews">
{{cite journal
| last1      = McGivern
| first1     = Carrie
| date       = 4 February 2014
| title      = What happens in hydrocarbon stays in hydrocarbon (sometimes)
| url        =  https://news.fnal.gov/2014/02/what-happens-in-hydrocarbon-stays-in-hydrocarbon-sometimes/ 
| journal    = 
| volume     = 
| issue      = 
| pages      = 
| doi        = 
| access-date = 
}}
</ref><ref name="BarbaraNews">
{{cite journal
| last1      = Yaeggy
| first1     = Barbara 
| date       =  8 September 2017 
| title      = Neutral-pion production at MINERvA, or how to cope with cases of mistaken identity
| url        = https://news.fnal.gov/2017/09/neutral-pion-production-minerva-cope-cases-mistaken-identity/ 
| journal    = 
| volume     = 
| issue      = 
| pages      = 
| doi        = 
| access-date = 
}}
</ref>  One of the main conclusions of that work is that the production of pions from nuclei appears to be suppressed in low-momentum transfer reactions.<ref name="refPatrick">
{{cite journal
| last1      = P. Stowell |last2=L. Pickering |last3=C. Wilkinson |last4=C. Wret |display-authors=et al |collaboration=MINERvA Collaboration
| date       = 14 October 2019
| title      = Tuning the GENIE Pion Production Model with MINERvA Data
| url        = https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.100.072005
| journal    = Physical Review D
| volume     = 100
| issue      = 7
| page =072005
| doi        = 10.1103/PhysRevD.100.072005
| arxiv      =  1903.01558
| s2cid =102486532
| access-date = 
}}
</ref>  MINERvA has also precisely measured a rare process, coherent pion production, which involves scattering off the entire nucleus, leaving it intact.<ref name="refAaronH">
{{cite journal
| last1      = A. Higuera |display-authors=et al |collaboration=MINERvA Collaboration
| date       = 23 December 2014
| title      = Measurement of Coherent Production of π<sup>±</sup> in Neutrino and Antineutrino Beams on Carbon from E<sub>ν</sub> of 1.5 to 20 GeV
| url        = https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.113.261802
| journal    = Physical Review Letters
| volume     = 113
| issue      = 26
| page = 261802
| doi        = 10.1103/PhysRevLett.113.261802
| pmid = 25615308
| arxiv      =  1409.3835
|bibcode=2014PhRvL.113z1802H | s2cid = 22876688
| access-date = 
}}
</ref><ref name="refAAronM">
{{cite journal
| last1      = A. Mislevic |last2=A. Higuera |display-authors=et al |collaboration=MINERvA Collaboration
| year       = 2018
| title      = Measurement of total and differential cross sections of neutrino and antineutrino coherent π<sup>±</sup> production on carbon
| url        = https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.97.032014
| journal    = Physical Review D
| volume     = 97
| issue      = 3
| page = 032014
| doi        = 10.1103/PhysRevD.97.032014
| arxiv      =  1711.01178
|bibcode=2018PhRvD..97c2014M | s2cid = 119445408
| access-date = 
}}
</ref><ref name="refAaronNews">
{{cite journal
| last1      = Mislivec
| first1     = Aaron
| date       = 1 August 2014
| title      = Pion on the break shot
| url        = https://news.fnal.gov/2014/08/pion-on-the-break-shot/ 
| journal    = 
| volume     = 
| issue      = 
| pages      = 
| doi        = 
| access-date = 
}}
</ref><ref name="refAlex">
{{cite arXiv
| last1      = A. Mislevic |last2=A. Higuera |display-authors=et al |collaboration=MINERvA Collaboration
| title      = Neutrino-induced coherent π<sup>+</sup> production in C, CH, Fe and Pb at ⟨E<sub>ν</sub>⟩ ≈ 6 GeV
| year       = 2022
|class=hep-ex
| eprint      =  2210.01285
}}
</ref>

MINERvA has studied production of charged kaons,<ref name="refChris1">
{{cite journal
| last1      = C.M. Marshall |display-authors=et al |collaboration=MINERvA Collaboration
| date       = 14 July 2016
| title      = Measurement of K<sup>+</sup> production in charged-current ν<sub>μ</sub> interactions
| url        = https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.94.012002
| journal    = Physical Review D 
| volume     = 94
| issue      = 1
| page = 012002
| doi        = 10.1103/PhysRevD.94.012002
| arxiv      =  1604.03920
|bibcode=2016PhRvD..94a2002M | s2cid = 85556492
| access-date = 
}}
</ref><ref name="refChris2">
{{cite journal
| last1      = C.M. Marshall |display-authors=et al |collaboration=MINERvA Collaboration
| date       = 7 July 2017
| title      = Measurement of neutral-current K<sup>+</sup> production by neutrinos using MINERvA
| url        = https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.119.011802
| journal    = Physical Review Letters
| volume     = 119
| issue      = 1
| page = 011802
| doi        = 10.1103/PhysRevLett.119.011802
| pmid = 28731762
| arxiv      =  1611.02224
|bibcode=2017PhRvL.119a1802M | s2cid = 206293746
| access-date = 
}}
</ref><ref name="refMCTruthStoryNews">
{{cite journal
| last1      = Fine
| first1     = Robert
| date       =1 February 2016
| title      = MC Truth drops new track: kaons at MINERvA
| url        = https://news.fnal.gov/2016/02/mc-truth-drops-new-track-kaons-at-minerva/ 
| journal    = 
| volume     = 
| issue      = 
| pages      = 
| doi        = 
| access-date = 
}}
</ref> a process that is an important background to searches for proton decay.  MINERvA was also the first experiment to observe coherent [[Physics:Kaon|kaon]] production.<ref name=refAiden>
{{cite journal
| last1      = Z. Wang |last2=C.M. Marshall |display-authors=et al |collaboration=MINERvA Collaboration
| date       = 5 August 2016
| title      = First evidence of coherent K<sup>+</sup> meson production in neutrino-nucleus scattering
| url        = https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.061802
| journal    = Physical Review Letters
| volume     = 117
| issue      = 6
| page = 061802
| doi        = 10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.061802
| pmid = 27541459
| arxiv      =  1606.08890
| s2cid = 206279453
| access-date = 
}}
</ref>

=== Nuclear Dependence of Neutrino Interactions ===
MINERvA has used its passive nuclear targets to compare reactions on different nuclei in inclusive scattering and in [[Physics:Deep inelastic scattering|deep inelastic scattering]].<ref name="refBrian">
{{cite journal
| last1      = B.G. Tice |last2=M. Datta |last3=J. Mousseau |display-authors=et al |collaboration=MINERvA Collaboration
| date       = 9 June 2014
| title      = Measurement of Ratios of ν<sub>μ</sub> Charged-Current Cross Sections on C, Fe, and Pb to CH at Neutrino Energies 2-20 GeV
| url        = https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.231801
| journal    = Physical Review Letters
| volume     = 112
| issue      = 23
| page = 231801
| doi        = 10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.231801
| pmid = 24972195
| arxiv      =  1403.2103
|bibcode=2014PhRvL.112w1801T | s2cid = 21015378
| access-date = 
}}
</ref><ref name="refJoel">
{{cite journal
| last1      = J. Mousseau |display-authors=et al |collaboration=MINERvA Collaboration
| date       = 19 April 2016
| title      = Measurement of Partonic Nuclear Effects in Deep-Inelastic Neutrino Scattering using MINERvA
| url        = https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.93.071101
| journal    = Physical Review D
| volume     = 93
| issue      = 7
| page = 071101
| doi        = 10.1103/PhysRevD.93.071101
| arxiv      =  1601.06313
|bibcode=2016PhRvD..93g1101M | s2cid = 119103190
| access-date = 
}}
</ref>  Work in pre-publication form as of 2022 has expanded these comparisons to include quasielastic scattering
<ref name="refJeffrey">
{{cite arXiv 
| last1      = J. Kleykamp |display-authors=et al |collaboration=MINERvA Collaboration
| title      = Simultaneous measurement of muon neutrino quasielastic-like cross sections on CH, C, water, Fe, and Pb as a function of muon kinematics at MINERvA
| year = 2023
|class=hep-ex | eprint      =  2301.02272
}}
</ref> and charged pion production.<ref name="refAaronB">
{{cite arXiv 
| last1      = A. Bercellie |display-authors=et al |collaboration=MINERvA Collaboration
| title      = Simultaneous measurement of muon neutrino ν<sub>μ</sub> charged-current single π<sup>+</sup> production in CH, C, H<sub>2</sub>O, Fe, and Pb targets in MINERvA
| year = 2022
|class=hep-ex | eprint      = 2209.07852
}}
</ref>

This recent data provides evidence that the low-momentum transfer suppression of the reaction occurs in many nuclei. They show the effect of intranuclear rescattering increasing as expected in heavier nuclei.

=== Interactions of Electron Neutrinos compared to Muon Neutrinos ===
Using the 1% contamination of [[Physics:Electron neutrino|electron neutrino]]s in the neutrino beam, MINERvA has measured quasielastic-like scattering of electron neutrinos.<ref = name="refJeremy">
{{cite journal
| last1      = J. Wolcott |display-authors=et al |collaboration=MINERvA Collaboration
| date       = 23 February 2016
| title      = Measurement of electron neutrino quasielastic and quasielasticlike scattering on hydrocarbon at ⟨E<sub>ν</sub>⟩ = 3.6 GeV
| url        = https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.081802
| journal    = Physical Review Letters
| volume     = 116
| issue      = 8
| page = 081802
| doi        = 10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.081802
| pmid = 26967410
| arxiv      = 1509.05729
|bibcode=2016PhRvL.116h1802W | s2cid = 32337248
| access-date = 
}}
</ref>  Differences between muon neutrino and electron neutrino interactions would significantly impact present and future oscillation measurements.<ref name="refHill">
{{cite journal
| last1      = O. Tomalak |last2=Q. Chen |last3=R.J. Hill |last4=K.S. McFarland
| date       = 8 September 2022
| title      = QED radiative corrections for accelerator neutrinos
| url        = https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-32974-x
| journal    = Nature Communications
| volume     = 13
| issue      = 1
| page = 5286
| doi        = 10.1038/s41467-022-32974-x
| pmid = 36075927
| pmc = 9458660
| arxiv      =  2105.07939
|bibcode=2022NatCo..13.5286T | s2cid = 252161567
| access-date = 
}}
</ref> In making these measurements, a surprising number of events with neutral pions and little else visible in the detector were found. These were attributed to a larger than expected rate of coherent production of these neutral pions from [[Chemistry:Hydrogen|hydrogen]].<ref name="refWarilyJeremy">
{{cite journal
| last1      = J. Wolcott |display-authors=et al |collaboration=MINERvA Collaboration
| date       = 7 September 2016
| title      = Evidence for Neutral-Current Diffractive π<sup>0</sup> Production from Hydrogen in Neutrino Interactions on Hydrocarbon
| url        = https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.111801
| journal    = Physical Review Letters
| volume     = 117
| issue      = 11
| page = 111801
| doi        = 10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.111801
| pmid = 27661679
| arxiv      = 1604.01728
|bibcode=2016PhRvL.117k1801W | s2cid = 206281539
| access-date = 
}}
</ref><ref name="refJeremyNews">
{{cite journal
| last1      = Marshall
| first1     = Chris
| date       = 18 September 2015
| title      = The one-percenters and those who fake it
| url        = https://news.fnal.gov/2015/09/the-one-percenters-and-those-who-fake-it/
| journal    = 
| volume     = 
| issue      = 
| pages      = 
| doi        = 
| access-date = 
}}
</ref>

=== Data Preservation and Release ===
MINERvA is designing a general release of its data with a software package to allow anyone to analyze this preserved data.<ref name="refDataPreservation">
{{cite journal
| last1      = B. Messerly |last2=R. Fine |last3=A. Olivier |collaboration=MINERvA Collaboration
| date       = 23 August 2021
| title      = An Error Analysis Toolkit for Binned Counting Experiments
| url        = https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/202125103046
| journal    = European Physical Journal Web of Conferences
| volume     = 251
| issue      = 
| page = 03046
| doi        = 10.1051/epjconf/202125103046
| arxiv      = 2103.08677
|bibcode=2021EPJWC.25103046M | s2cid = 232240348
| access-date = 
}}
</ref>

== Neutrino communication ==
On March 14, 2012, MINERνA submitted a preprint demonstrating communication using neutrinos.  Though not a part of the experiment's physics program, this is the first reported instance of a message being transmitted by neutrinos.  Scientists used ASCII code to represent the word "neutrino" as a series of 1s and 0s.  Over a period of 6 minutes, this sequence was delivered by either the presence (1) or absence (0) of a neutrino pulse, over a distance of about a kilometer. The data communication speed was 0.1 bit per second, with an error rate of 1%.<ref name="sciAmCommArticle">{{cite web | url=http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2012/03/16/message-encoded-in-neutrino-beam-transmitted-through-solid-rock | title=Message Encoded in Neutrino Beam Transmitted through Solid Rock | accessdate=2012-03-16 | date=2012-03-16 | publisher=Scientific American | archive-date=2012-03-20 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320024518/http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2012/03/16/message-encoded-in-neutrino-beam-transmitted-through-solid-rock/ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="physicsWorldArticle">{{cite web | url=https://physicsworld.com/a/neutrino-based-communication-is-a-first/ | title=Neutrino-based communication is a first | accessdate=2020-05-17 | date=2012-03-19 | publisher=Physics World | archive-date=2020-04-18 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418220241/https://physicsworld.com/a/neutrino-based-communication-is-a-first/ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="CommunicationsPaper">{{Cite journal| arxiv=1203.2847 | title=Demonstration of Communication Using Neutrinos | journal=Modern Physics Letters A | volume=27 | issue=12 | pages=1250077-1-1250077-10 | date=2012-03-14 | last1= Stancil | first1=D. D. | last2= Adamson | first2=P. | last3= Alania | first3=M. | last4= Aliaga | first4=L. | last5= Andrews | first5=M. | last6= Araujo Del Castillo | first6=C. | last7= Bagby | first7=L. | last8= Bazo Alba | first8=J. L. | last9= Bodek | first9=A. | last10= Boehnlein | first10=D. | last11= Bradford | first11=R. | last12= Brooks | first12=W. K. | last13= Budd | first13=H. | last14= Butkevich | first14=A. | last15= Caicedo | first15=D. A. M. | last16= Capista | first16=D. P. | last17= Castromonte | first17=C. M. | last18= Chamorro | first18=A. | last19= Charlton | first19=E. | last20= Christy | first20=M. E. | last21= Chvojka | first21=J. | last22= Conrow | first22=P. D. | last23= Danko | first23=I. | last24= Day | first24=M. | last25= Devan | first25=J. | last26= Downey | first26=J. M. | last27= Dytman | first27=S. A. | last28= Eberly | first28=B. | last29= Fein | first29=J. R. | last30= Felix | first30=J. | display-authors=0 | doi=10.1142/S0217732312500770 |bibcode=2012MPLA...2750077S | s2cid=119237711 }}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Neutrino detectors}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Minerva}}
[[Category:Accelerator neutrino experiments]]
[[Category:Fermilab]]
[[Category:Fermilab experiments]]

{{Sourceattribution|MINERνA|1}}