STUDIES OF NEUTRON-ARGON INTERACTIONS IN MINI-CAPTAIN

The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) will use a large underground liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) to study neutrino oscillations, search for proton decay, and observe supernova neutrinos, should a supernova occur. There is a currently a rich program of R&D on LArTPCs in preparation for DUNE. The Cryogenic Apparatus for Precision Tests of Argon Interactions with Neutrino (CAPTAIN) program is one of these R&D efforts. This thesis describes studies on the neutron interactions in liquid argon using the mini-CAPTAIN LArTPC at a neutron beam facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Studies of neutron signatures can help to improve neutrino energy reconstruction in DUNE, important for the neutrino oscillation measurements. In addition, neutron data can be used to measure cross sections of the neutron background to supernova burst neutrinos. This work represents the first measurement of neutron interactions in a liquid argon TPC in the energy range above 20 MeV.