ETD

• argon
• cross section
• neutrino
• pion

This thesis presents a work done in the context of the Fermilab Neutrino Intensity Frontier. Total cross section and differential cross section measurements for one pion production in charged current (CC) neutrino and antineutrino on argon are presented. These measurements are performed using the Argon Neutrino Test (ArgoNeuT) detector exposed to the Fermilab Neutrino From The Main Injector (NuMI) beam operating in the low energy antineutrino mode. The results are reported in terms of outgoing muon angle and momentum, outgoing pion angle and angle between outgoing pion and muon at a mean neutrino energy of 9.6 GeV (neutrinos) and 3.6 GeV (antineutrinos), setting a reconstruction limit on the pion momentum of 100 MeV/c.
The total cross sections, averaged over a flux, are found to be 8.31 +/- 0.91 (stat) +/- 1.03 (syst) x 10^{-38} cm^{2} per argon nuclei and 2.54 +/- 0.43 (stat) -0.45+0.50 (syst) x 10^{-37} cm^{2} per argon nuclei for antineutrino and neutrino respectively. This is the first time the CC one pion production cross section is measured on argon nuclei.