The MiniBooNE Experiment : An Overview

Neutrino oscillations have been observed in three sectors : solar ($\nu_e$ disappearance), atmospheric ($\nu_{\mu}$ disappearance), and accelerator ($\bar{\nu_{\mu}} \to \bar{\nu_e}$). The probability for two-neutrino oscillation is a function of four variables : two are determined by the conditions of the experiment, and two are the quantities fit for when performing an oscillation search ($\sin^2(2\theta)$ and $\Delta m^2$). $\Delta \mathrm{m}^2$ is the difference in squares of the mass states of the neutrinos ($\Delta \mathrm{m}^2_{12}$ = $\mathrm{m}^2_2$ - $\mathrm{m}^2_1$). If the observed oscillations only occur between neutrinos in the Standard Model a summation law of the $\Delta \mathrm{m}^2$ is valid ($\Delta \mathrm{m}^2_{13}$ = $\Delta \mathrm{m}^2_{12}$ + $\Delta \mathrm{m}^2_{23}$). The observed oscillations do not follow this summation law. This implies one of the results is incorrect or there exists physics beyond the Standard Model. While the solar and atmospheric results have been confirmed by several different experiments, the accelerator based result, from the Los Alamos LSND experiment, has yet to be fully vetted. The MiniBooNE experiment, located at Fermi National Laboratory, is designed to fully explore the LSND result. MiniBooNE is in the final stages of performing a blind oscillation search ($\nu_{\mu} \to \nu_e$) using neutrino data collected through November, 2005. A blind analysis is one in which you may analyze some of the information in all of the data, all of the information in some of the data, but not all of the information in all of the data. As MiniBooNE hasn't yet opened the box, this discussion will focus on the different components of MiniBooNE relevant for the oscillation analysis.