Study of Neutrino Interactions in Hydrogen and Deuterium: Inelastic Charged Current Reactions

Abstract

This paper gives the results of a study of inelastic charged-current interactions of muon-type neutrinos with hydrogen and deuterium targets using the Argonne 12-foot bubble chamber. We discuss in detail the separation of the events from background. For the single-pion production reactions νp→μ−pπ+, νn→μ−nπ+, and νn→μ−pπ0, energy-dependent cross sections, differential cross sections, invariant-mass distributions, and the Δ++(1236) decay angular distribution are presented. These data are also used to study the isospin properties of the πN system. Comparisons of the data with models of single-pion production are made, and a direct test of partial conservation of the axial-vector current is discussed. Cross sections and invariant-mass distributions are given for the reactions in which more than one pion is produced. Ten events of strange-particle production were found, and the properties of these events are discussed. The energy dependence of the total νp and νn cross sections from threshold to 6 GeV was determined, and the σ(νn)σ(νp) ratio measured. This ratio and the inclusive x and y distributions rapidly approach the scaling distributions expected from the quark-parton model.