Measurements of differential charged-current cross sections on argon for electron neutrinos with final-state protons in MicroBooNE

This work presents single-differential electron-neutrino charged-current cross sections on argon measured using the MicroBooNE detector at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. The analysis uses data recorded when the Neutrinos at the Main Injector beam was operating in both neutrino and antineutrino modes, with exposures of 2 × 10 20 and 5 × 10 20 protons on target, respectively. A selection algorithm targeting electron-neutrino charged-current interactions with at least one proton, one electron, and no pions in the final topology is used to measure differential cross sections as a function of outgoing electron energy, total visible energy, and the cosine of the opening angle between the electron and the most energetic proton. The interaction rate as a function of proton multiplicity is also reported. The total cross section is measured as [ 4.1 ± 0.3 ( stat ) ± 1.1 ( syst ) ] × 10 − 39 cm 2 / nucleon . The unfolded cross-section measurements are compared to predictions from neutrino event generators commonly employed in the field. Good agreement is seen across all variables within uncertainties.