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arxiv: 2605.30709 · v1 · pith:53NDDZCUnew · submitted 2026-05-29 · ⚛️ physics.ins-det · hep-ex

Characterizing the energy resolution of the MicroBooNE LArTPC at the MeV scale using monoenergetic features of ²⁰⁸Tl decays

MicroBooNE collaboration: P. Abratenko , D. Andrade Aldana , J. Asaadi , A. Ashkenazi , S. Balasubramanian , B. Baller , A. Barnard , G. Barr
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D. Barrow J. Barrow V. Basque J. Bateman B. Behera O. Benevides Rodrigues S. Berkman A. Bhat M. Bhattacharya V. Bhelande A. Binau M. Bishai A. Blake B. Bogart T. Bolton M.B. Brunetti L. Camilleri D. Caratelli F. Cavanna G. Cerati A. Chappell Y. Chen J.M. Conrad M. Convery L. Cooper-Troendle J.I. Crespo-Anadon R. Cross M. Del Tutto S.R. Dennis P. Detje R. Diurba Z. Djurcic K. Duffy S. Dytman B. Eberly P. Englezos A. Ereditato J.J. Evans C. Fang B.T. Fleming W. Foreman D. Franco A.P. Furmanski F. Gao D. Garcia-Gamez S. Gardiner G. Ge S. Gollapinni E. Gramellini P. Green H. Greenlee L. Gu W. Gu R. Guenette L. Hagaman M. D. Handley O. Hen A. Hergenhan M. Harrison S. Hawkins C. Hilgenberg G.A. Horton-Smith A. Hussain B. Irwin M.S. Ismail C. James X. Ji J.H. Jo A. Johnson R.A. Johnson D. Kalra G. Karagiorgi W. Ketchum A. Kelly M. Kirby T. Kobilarcik K. Kumar N. Lane J.-Y. Li Y. Li K. Lin B.R. Littlejohn L. Liu S. Liu W.C. Louis X. Luo T. Mahmud N. Majeed C. Mariani J. Marshall D.A. Martinez Caicedo F. Martinez Lopez M. G. Manuel Alves S. Martynenko A. Mastbaum I. Mawby N. McConkey B. McConnell L. Mellet J. Mendez J. Micallef T. Mohayai A. Mogan M. Mooney A.F. Moor C.D. Moore L. Mora Lepin M. A. Hernandez Morquecho M.M. Moudgalya S. Mulleria Babu D. Naples A. Navrer-Agasson N. Nayak M. Nebot-Guinot C. Nguyen L. Nguyen J. Nowak N. Oza O. Palamara N. Pallat V. Paolone A. Papadopoulou V. Papavassiliou H. Parkinson S.F. Pate N. Patel Z. Pavlovic E. Piasetzky K. Pletcher I. Pophale X. Qian J.L. Raaf V. Radeka A. Rafique M. Reggiani-Guzzo J. Rodriguez Rondon M. Rosenberg M. Ross-Lonergan I. Safa C. Sauer D.W. Schmitz A. Schukraft W. Seligman M.H. Shaevitz R. Sharankova J. Shi L. Silva E.L. Snider S. Soldner-Rembold J. Spitz M. Stancari J. St. John T. Strauss A.M. Szelc N. Taniuchi K. Terao C.Thorpe D. Torbunov D. Totani M. Toups A. Trettin Y.-T. Tsai J. Tyler M.A. Uchida T. Usher B. Viren J. Wang L. Wang M. Weber H. Wei A.J. White S. Wolbers T. Wongjirad K. Wresilo W. Wu E. Yandel T. Yang L.E. Yates H.W. Yu G.P. Zeller J. Zennamo C. Zhang Y. Zhang
This is my paper

Pith reviewed 2026-06-28 20:18 UTC · model grok-4.3

classification ⚛️ physics.ins-det hep-ex
keywords energy resolutionLArTPCMeV scale208Tl decayspair productionMicroBooNEliquid argonneutrino detector
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0 comments X

The pith

MicroBooNE measures LArTPC energy resolution of 7.52% at 1.5 MeV using thallium gamma rays.

A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.

This paper measures the energy resolution of the MicroBooNE liquid argon time projection chamber at energies around 1.5 MeV. It uses monoenergetic gamma rays from thallium-208 decays that produce electron-positron pairs in the detector. The measured resolution is 7.52 percent with statistical and systematic uncertainties. This value matches the simulation prediction within 1.6 standard deviations. Such a measurement provides a way to calibrate detectors for low-energy neutrino physics.

Core claim

The energy resolution of the MicroBooNE LArTPC at approximately 1.5 MeV is measured to be (7.52 ± 0.78 (stat) ± 0.92 (syst))% using monoenergetic signals from 2.614 MeV gamma-rays undergoing pair production. This is consistent with the simulation prediction of (9.70 ± 0.65 (stat))% at the 1.6 σ level, marking the first such measurement at the MeV scale.

What carries the argument

Monoenergetic signals generated by 2.614 MeV γ-rays from 208Tl decays undergoing pair production in the detector, used to characterize the reconstructed energy resolution.

If this is right

  • This provides a pathway for monoenergetic energy calibrations in future LArTPC experiments.
  • It supports a detailed understanding of low-energy reconstruction capabilities for MeV-scale neutrino physics.
  • The consistency with simulation validates the use of Monte Carlo models for energy resolution predictions at this scale.

Where Pith is reading between the lines

These are editorial extensions of the paper, not claims the author makes directly.

  • The method could be adapted to verify resolution in other noble-liquid detectors operating at similar energies.
  • Improved low-energy calibration may reduce systematic uncertainties in neutrino interaction measurements below a few MeV.
  • Repeated application in next-generation detectors could establish a standard calibration benchmark independent of simulation.

Load-bearing premise

The selected events are cleanly dominated by pair-production deposits from the 2.614 MeV 208Tl gamma line with backgrounds and other detector effects sufficiently controlled to allow a direct resolution extraction.

What would settle it

An independent measurement of energy resolution at 1.5 MeV in the same or a similar LArTPC that falls outside the combined 1.6 σ agreement window with the reported 7.52% value.

read the original abstract

A detailed understanding of the capabilities and fidelity of low-energy reconstruction is crucial for taking advantage of MeV-scale neutrino physics opportunities in liquid argon time projection chambers (LArTPCs). This study presents a measurement of the resolution of reconstructed energy in the MicroBooNE LArTPC at $\approx 1.5$ MeV. The characterization is performed using monoenergetic signals generated by $2.614$ MeV $\gamma$-rays from $^{208}$Tl decays undergoing pair production in the detector. The resolution is found to be ($7.52 \pm 0.78 \text{(stat)} \pm 0.92 \text{(syst)}$)%. This value is consistent with the MicroBooNE simulation prediction of ($9.70 \pm 0.65 \text{(stat)}$)% at the $1.6 \sigma$ level. This study represents the first ever measurement of LArTPC energy resolution at the MeV scale and provides a pathway for monoenergetic energy calibrations in future experiments using LArTPC detectors.

Editorial analysis

A structured set of objections, weighed in public.

Desk editor's note, referee report, simulated authors' rebuttal, and a circularity audit. Tearing a paper down is the easy half of reading it; the pith above is the substance, this is the friction.

Referee Report

0 major / 0 minor

Summary. The manuscript reports the first measurement of energy resolution in the MicroBooNE LArTPC at the MeV scale (~1.5 MeV), extracted from monoenergetic pair-production deposits of 2.614 MeV γ-rays from 208Tl decays. The resolution is measured as (7.52 ± 0.78 (stat) ± 0.92 (syst))% and found consistent with the simulation prediction of (9.70 ± 0.65 (stat))% at the 1.6σ level.

Significance. If the result holds, this provides the first direct experimental benchmark of LArTPC energy resolution at MeV energies, directly supporting low-energy reconstruction for neutrino physics applications. The use of an in-situ monoenergetic feature from natural radioactivity offers a practical calibration pathway for future LArTPC experiments, and the reported consistency between data and simulation strengthens confidence in detector modeling at these scales.

Simulated Author's Rebuttal

0 responses · 0 unresolved

We thank the referee for their positive review of our manuscript, their recognition of its significance as the first direct measurement of LArTPC energy resolution at the MeV scale, and their recommendation to accept.

Circularity Check

0 steps flagged

No significant circularity; direct experimental measurement

full rationale

The paper reports an experimental extraction of LArTPC energy resolution from selected data events associated with the 2.614 MeV 208Tl gamma line. No derivation chain, parameter fit, or self-citation is shown to reduce the quoted resolution value to an input by construction. The result is obtained from data with statistical and systematic uncertainties evaluated separately from simulation comparison. This is a standard measurement paper whose central claim does not rely on any of the enumerated circularity patterns.

Axiom & Free-Parameter Ledger

0 free parameters · 1 axioms · 0 invented entities

The central claim is an experimental measurement resting on standard assumptions about pair-production kinematics, known 208Tl decay properties, and the detector's response model; no free parameters or invented entities are introduced in the abstract.

axioms (1)
  • domain assumption Pair production of 2.614 MeV gamma rays produces a monoenergetic energy deposit at 1.022 MeV above threshold that can be used to characterize resolution.
    Invoked implicitly as the basis for selecting the calibration feature (abstract).

pith-pipeline@v0.9.1-grok · 6725 in / 1290 out tokens · 20594 ms · 2026-06-28T20:18:17.014065+00:00 · methodology

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Reference graph

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