Commissioning and Performance of the Time-of-Flight Detector for the T2K Neutrino Oscillation Experiment
Abstract
The T2K ND280 Upgrade aims to reduce systematic uncertainties in measurements of neutrino oscillation parameters and improve sensitivity to the charge-parity (CP)-violating phase, δCP. A key component is the Time-of-Flight (ToF) detector, comprising six panels with 118 EJ-200 plastic-scintillator bars surrounding the Super Fine-Grained Detector (SuperFGD) and two High-Angle Time Projection Chambers (HA-TPCs). Each bar is read out at both ends by silicon photomultiplier arrays and digitised using SAMPIC waveform electronics. The ToF provides precise timing and particle-direction information for particle identification and rejection of backgrounds entering the tracker from outside. This article presents the detector design, construction, signal reconstruction, integration, commissioning, and performance. Dedicated single-bar measurements achieve a time resolution of approximately 130 ps and a longitudinal position resolution of 2.6 cm. After installation in ND280, cosmic-ray calibration yields an in situ single-bar time resolution of 169 ± 1 ps for Top-Bottom crossing events. Beam data clearly resolve the eight-bunch T2K spill structure, confirming synchronisation with the ND280 trigger and data-acquisition systems. The ToF has been successfully commissioned and operates stably within the upgraded ND280 detector.
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BibTeX
@misc{alt2026commissioning,
title = {{Commissioning and Performance of the Time-of-Flight Detector for the T2K Neutrino Oscillation Experiment}},
author = {C Alt and L Amziane and N Baudis and A Blanchet and S Bordoni and T.H Bui and F Cadoux and P Collard and M El Baz and Y Favre and L Giannessi and G Ha and C Jesús-Valls and V.S Kasturi and A Klustová and A Korzenev and T.A Le and T Lux and A.D Nguyen and D.T Nguyen and H Nguyen and S Samani and F Sánchez and M Ta and T Thaiduc and E Villa},
howpublished = {HAL},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.20117},
eprint = {2609.20117},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05784466v1},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Commissioning and Performance of the Time-of-Flight Detector for the T2K Neutrino Oscillation Experiment
AU - C Alt
AU - L Amziane
AU - N Baudis
AU - A Blanchet
AU - S Bordoni
AU - T.H Bui
AU - F Cadoux
AU - P Collard
AU - M El Baz
AU - Y Favre
AU - L Giannessi
AU - G Ha
AU - C Jesús-Valls
AU - V.S Kasturi
AU - A Klustová
AU - A Korzenev
AU - T.A Le
AU - T Lux
AU - A.D Nguyen
AU - D.T Nguyen
AU - H Nguyen
AU - S Samani
AU - F Sánchez
AU - M Ta
AU - T Thaiduc
AU - E Villa
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/17
PB - HAL
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.20117
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05784466v1
AB - The T2K ND280 Upgrade aims to reduce systematic uncertainties in measurements of neutrino oscillation parameters and improve sensitivity to the charge-parity (CP)-violating phase, δ_CP. A key component is the Time-of-Flight (ToF) detector, comprising six panels with 118 EJ-200 plastic-scintillator bars surrounding the Super Fine-Grained Detector (SuperFGD) and two High-Angle Time Projection Chambers (HA-TPCs). Each bar is read out at both ends by silicon photomultiplier arrays and digitised using SAMPIC waveform electronics. The ToF provides precise timing and particle-direction information for particle identification and rejection of backgrounds entering the tracker from outside. This article presents the detector design, construction, signal reconstruction, integration, commissioning, and performance. Dedicated single-bar measurements achieve a time resolution of approximately 130 ps and a longitudinal position resolution of 2.6 cm. After installation in ND280, cosmic-ray calibration yields an in situ single-bar time resolution of 169 ± 1 ps for Top-Bottom crossing events. Beam data clearly resolve the eight-bunch T2K spill structure, confirming synchronisation with the ND280 trigger and data-acquisition systems. The ToF has been successfully commissioned and operates stably within the upgraded ND280 detector.
ER -