Eur. Phys. J. C (2007) 52: 849-855
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-007-0445-x

Regular Article - Experimental Physics

First CNGS events detected by LVD

¹ Institute for Nuclear Research, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
² Institute of Physics of Interplanetary Space, INAF, University of Torino and INFN-Torino, Torino, Italy
³ University of Bologna and INFN-Bologna, Via Irnerio 46, 40126, Bologna, Italy
⁴ INFN-LNGS, Assergi, Italy
⁵ Museo Storico della Fisica, Centro Studi e Ricerche “E. Fermi”, Rome, Italy
⁶ University of Campinas, Campinas, Brazil
⁷ Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA
⁸ INFN-LNF, Frascati, Italy

^* e-mail: selvi@bo.infn.it

Received: 13 July 2007
Revised: 15 September 2007
Published online: 26 October 2007

Abstract

The CERN Neutrino to Gran Sasso (CNGS) project aims to produce a high energy, wide band ν_μ beam at CERN and send it toward the INFN Gran Sasso National Laboratory (LNGS), 732 km away. Its main goal is the observation of the ν_τ appearance, through neutrino flavour oscillation. The beam started its operation in August 2006 for about 12 days: a total amount of 7.6×10¹⁷ protons were delivered to the target. The LVD detector, installed in hall A of the LNGS and mainly dedicated to the study of supernova neutrinos, was fully operating during the whole CNGS running time. A total number of 569 events were detected in coincidence with the beam spill time. This is in good agreement with the expected number of events from Monte Carlo simulations.