Measurement of the muon antineutrino charged-current interactions without pions in the final state in the NOvA near detector

NOvA is an experiment based in the US that aims to measure neutrino and antineutrino oscillations to better understand the origin of the universe. To measure neutrino oscillations, we need to learn and understand how neutrinos and antineutrinos interact. Antineutrino interaction cross sections are currently poorly constrained, and processes like Meson Exchange Currents in antineutrinos are not well understood. The project is to develop a measurement of the muon antineutrino interactions without pions in the final state in the NOvA near detector. This sample is dominated by quasi elastic and meson exchange current processes. The student will develop the selection for this sample, extract the cross sections as a function of the kinematics of the outgoing particles, and compare them to currently available theoretical models. This new measurement has the opportunity to provide vital data to the neutrino community, and help disentangle effects in past neutrino oscillation measurements.