Reconstructing and Selecting Electron Neutrino and Anti-Neutrino Interactions on Argon in the Short-Baseline Near Detector

As the field of neutrino physics approaches the precision era, where all of the
parameters describing neutrino oscillations have been measured, the understating
of neutrino-nucleus interactions must continue to develop to facilitate the next
generation of oscillation experiments. This advancement relies upon developments in
both the theoretical modelling and experimental measurements of these interactions.
The Short-Baseline Near Detector (SBND) is a 112 ton Liquid Argon Time Projection
Chamber (LAr TPC) which aims to provide such interaction measurements in the
Booster Neutrino Beam (BNB), in addition to constraining uncertainties for the
sterile neutrino search of the Short-Baseline Neutrino (SBN) program, once it turns on
in 2023. The capability of SBND to make a measurement of νe Charged Current (CC)
interaction cross section is assessed in this thesis. Improvements to the reconstruction
chain within SBND, with a focus on electron showers, are presented which enhance
the ability to both select and measure these interactions. These νe CC interactions
are selected with a 28.1% efficiency whilst rejecting over 99% of neutrino induced and
99.999% of cosmogenic backgrounds. A procedure to perform a νe CC inclusive cross
measurement is outlined, including an assessment of the impact of both statistical
and systematic uncertainties. The power of this measurement to differentiate between
neutrino interaction models is subsequently presented.