Separate samples of charged-current pion production events representing two semi-inclusive channels ${\nu }_{\mu }\text{−}\mathrm{CC}({\pi }^{+})$ and ${\overline{\nu }}_{\mu }\text{−}\mathrm{CC}({\pi }^0)$ have been obtained using neutrino and antineutrino exposures of the MINERvA detector. Distributions in kinematic variables based upon ${\mu }^{\pm }$-track reconstructions are analyzed and compared for the two samples. The differential cross sections for muon production angle, muon momentum, and four-momentum transfer $Q^2$ are reported, and cross sections versus neutrino energy are obtained. Comparisons with predictions of current neutrino event generators are used to clarify the role of the $\mathrm{\Delta }(1232)$ and higher-mass baryon resonances in CC pion production and to show the importance of pion final-state interactions. For the ${\nu }_{\mu }\text{−}\mathrm{CC}({\pi }^{+})$ [${\overline{\nu }}_{\mu }\text{−}\mathrm{CC}({\pi }^0)$] sample, the absolute data rate is observed to lie below (above) the predictions of some of the event generators by amounts that are typically 1-to- $2\sigma$. However the generators are able to reproduce the shapes of the differential cross sections for all kinematic variables of either data set.

• Received 24 June 2016

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.94.052005