17–23 Aug 2025
California Institute of Technology
US/Pacific timezone

Optimal Transport for $e/\pi^0$ Particle Classification in LArTPC Neutrino Experiments

22 Aug 2025, 10:20
20m
Chen 100

Chen 100

Chen Neuroscience Research Building

Speaker

Jessica N. Howard (Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics)

Description

The efficient classification of electromagnetic activity from $\pi^0$ and electrons remains an open problem in the reconstruction of neutrino interactions in Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LArTPC) detectors. We address this problem using the mathematical framework of Optimal Transport (OT), which has been successfully employed for event classification in other HEP contexts and is ideally suited to the high-resolution calorimetry of LArTPCs. Using an open simulated dataset from the MicroBooNE collaboration, we show that OT methods achieve state-of-the-art reconstruction performance in $e/\pi^0$ classification. The success of this first application indicates the broader promise of OT methods for LArTPC-based neutrino experiments.

Authors

Chuyue "Michaelia" Fang Prof. David Caratelli (UC Santa Barbara) Jessica N. Howard (Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics) Nathaniel Craig

Presentation materials