Performance of the MIND detector at a Neutrino Factory using realistic muon reconstruction

A Neutrino Factory producing an intense beam composed of ν e ( ν ¯ e ) and ν ¯ μ ( ν μ ) from muon decays has been shown to have the greatest sensitivity to the two currently unmeasured neutrino mixing parameters, θ 13 and δ CP . Using the ‘wrong-sign muon’ signal to measure ν e → ν μ ( ν ¯ e → ν ¯ μ ) oscillations in a 50 kt Magnetised Iron Neutrino Detector (MIND) sensitivity to δ CP could be maintained down to small values of θ 13 . However, the detector efficiencies used in these previous studies were calculated assuming perfect pattern recognition. In this paper, MIND is reassessed taking into account, for the first time, a realistic pattern recognition for the muon candidate. Reoptimisation of the analysis utilises a combination of methods, including a multivariate analysis similar to the one used in MINOS, to maintain high efficiency while suppressing backgrounds, ensuring that the signal selection efficiency and the background levels are comparable or better than the ones in previous analyses. As a result MIND remains the most sensitive future facility for the discovery of CP violation from neutrino oscillations.