Measurements of the reactions12C(νμ,μ−)12Ng.s.and12C(νμ,μ−)X

Abstract

Charged current scattering of ${\nu }_{\mu }$ on ${}^{12}\mathrm{C}$ has been studied using a ${\pi }^{+}$ decay-in-flight ${\nu }_{\mu }$ beam at the Los Alamos Meson Physics Facility. A sample of 56.8 $\pm 9.6$ events satisfying criteria for the exclusive reaction ${}^{12}{\mathrm{C}(\mathrm{\nu }}_{\mathrm{\mu }}{,\mathrm{\mu }}^{\mathrm{-}}{)}^{12}{\mathrm{N}}_{\mathrm{g}.\mathrm{s}.\mathrm{}}$ was obtained using a large liquid scintillator neutrino detector. The observed flux-averaged cross section $(6.6\mathrm{}\pm 1.0\pm 1.0)\times {10}^{-41}{\mathrm{cm}}^2$ agrees well with reliable theoretical expectations. A measurement was also obtained for the inclusive cross section to all accessible ${}^{12}\mathrm{N}$ states ${}^{12}\mathrm{C}({\nu }_{\mu },{\mu }^{-})X.\mathrm{}$ This flux-averaged cross section is $(11.2\mathrm{}\pm 0.3\pm 1.8)\times {10}^{-40}{\mathrm{cm}}^2,$ which is approximately half of that given by a recent continuum random-phase approximation calculation.