WAGASCI: A New Near Detector at T2K

WAGASCI is a newly installed detector at the J-PARC facility and part of the T2K experiment. Located at the end of the neutrino beam line it provides measurements of the neutrino flux before oscillation. Its design is fundamentally different from the existing near detectors and offers the first opportunity to measure the ratio of neutrino cross-sections on water and hydrocarbon to within a total uncertainty of 3%. This will allow neutrino nuclear scattering to be probed to a never before achievable extent. Developing our understanding of neutrino nuclear interactions is critical to the future of T2K and the long baseline neutrino program in general. Only through understanding these interactions can T2K reached the desired sensitivity to CP violation in leptons. A measurement of CP violation in neutrino oscillation would constitute one of the most significant breakthroughs in the field of particle physics for decades. In this seminar the WAGASCI detector will be introduced and the status after its first commissioning and physics runs reported.