| Abstract: |
Precise knowledge of neutrino-nucleus interactions is increasingly important as neutrino oscillation measurements transition into the systematics-limited era. In addition to modifying the initial interaction, the nuclear medium can scatter and absorb the interaction by-products through final state interactions, changing the types and kinematic distributions of particles seen by the detector. MINERvA, a fine-grained scintillator tracking detector that sits in the few-GeV NuMI beam line at Fermilab, is well-suited to study these nuclear effects in a variety of inclusive and exclusive neutrino interaction channels.
In this talk, I will present the status of MINERvA's analysis of charged current pion production on plastic scintillator. The pion kinetic energy and angular distributions are measured using the complete MINERvA low energy neutrino data set. The shapes of these distributions, which vary greatly with final state interaction strength, are compared to Monte Carlo predictions with and without final state interactions. |
