Particle identification algorithms for the medium energy (~1.5-8 GeV) MINERʋA TEST BEAM EXPERIMENT

This thesis is focused on the construction of algorithms to isolate specific kinds of particle species present in the secondary beam of the current Test Beam (taking data at medium energies ∼ 1.5-8 GeV) of the MINERνA experiment at Fermilab. For that purpose it was necessary to analyze many variables related to specific devices along the beamline (Time of Flight, Cerenkov, Veto) and the main detector (a miniature version of the MINERνA detector). Results on the particle composition of the secondary beam (% p±, π±, µ±, e±) are presented for different e-nergies and polarities of the beam together with a methodology to get those results. The usage of ROOT via C++/python was mandatory as well as the generation of Monte Carlo simulations of single particles passing through the Test Beam detector to test the cuts (logic conditions) used for the isolation of specific particle species (for all energies) and to perform an Efficiency-Purity analysis in order to find the optimum cuts (for the 2GeV sample). Keywords: MINERνA experiment, Fermilab, medium energies, Test Beam, Monte Carlo, ROOT, secondary beam, beamline, cuts, Efficiency-Purity analysis.