2021 Theses Doctoral

A Deep-Learning-Based Muon Neutrino CCQE Selection for Searches Beyond the Standard Model with MicroBooNE

Cianci, Davio

The anomalous Low Energy Excess (LEE) of electron neutrinos and antineutrinos in MiniBooNE has inspired both theories and entire experiments to probe the heart of its mystery. One such experiment is MicroBooNE. This dissertation presents an important facet of its LEE investigation: how a powerful systematic can be levied on this signal through parallel study of a highly correlated channel in muon neutrinos. This constraint serves to strengthen MicroBooNE's ability to confirm or validate the cause of the LEE and will lay the groundwork for future oscillation experiments in Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LArTPC) detector experiments like SBN and DUNE. In addition, this muon channel can be used to test oscillations directly, demonstrated through the world's first muon neutrino disappearance search with LArTPC data.