Neutrino scattering with nuclei - Theory of low energy nuclear effects and its applications
T. Leitner, O. Buss, U. Mosel, L. Alvarez-Ruso
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To appear in the proceedings of the 10th International Workshop on Neutrino Factories, Super beams and Beta beams (NUFACT08), June 30 - July 5 2008, Valencia, Spain
Current long baseline experiments aim at measuring neutrino oscillation parameters with a high precision. A critical quantity is the neutrino energy which can not be measured directly but has to be reconstructed from the observed hadrons. A good knowledge of neutrino-nucleus interactions is thus necessary to minimize the systematic uncertainties in neutrino fluxes, backgrounds and detector responses. In particular final-state interactions inside the target nucleus modify considerably the particle yields through rescattering, charge-exchange and absorption. Nuclear effects can be described with our coupled channel GiBUU transport model where the neutrino first interacts with a bound nucleon producing secondary particles which are then transported out of the nucleus. In this contribution, we give some examples for the application of our model focusing in particular on the MiniBooNE and K2K experiments.
We discuss the cross section formula both for massless and massive neutrinos on stable and radioactive nuclei. The latter could be of interest for the detection of cosmological neutrinos whose observation is one of the main challenges of modern cosmology. We analyze the signal to background ratio as a function of the ratio of the neutrino mass over the detector resolution and show that an energy resolution less than 0.5 eV would be required for sub-eV neutrino masses, independently of the gravitational neutrino clustering. Finally we mention the non-resonant character of neutrino capture on ra…
We present a phenomenological study of nuclear effects in neutrino charged-current interactions, using transverse kinematic imbalances in exclusive measurements. Novel observables with minimal dependence on neutrino energy are proposed to study quasielastic scattering, and especially resonance production. They should be able to provide direct constraints on nuclear effects in neutrino- and antineutrino-nucleus interactions.
We calculate the total and differential quasielastic cross sections for neutrino and antineutrino scattering on nucleons using up to date fits to the nucleon elastic electromagnetic form factors $G_E^p$, $G_E^n$, $G_M^p$, $G_M^n$, and $F_A$ and pseudoscalar form factors. We compare predictions of the cross sections for nucelons and nuclei to experimental data.
It is pointed out that so far all theoretical estimates of coherent pion production off nuclei induced by neutrinos rely on the 'local approximation' well known in photonuclear physics. The effects of dropping this approximation are discussed. It is found that in a plane wave approximation for the pion the local approximation overestimates the coherent neutrino-induced pion production on nuclei.
We carry out a series of studies on pion and photon productions in neutrino/electron/photon--nucleus scatterings. The low energy region is investigated by using a chiral effective field theory for nuclei. The results for the neutral current induced photon production ($γ$-NCP) are then extrapolated to neutrino energy $E_ν\sim$ GeV region. By convoluting the cross sections with MiniBooNE's beam spectrum and detection efficiency, we estimate its $γ$-NCP, event number, and conclude that such photon production can not fully explain its low energy event excess in both neutrino and antineutrino runs.
This article reviews our present knowledge of neutrino interactions with nucleons and discusses the interactions with nuclei, the target material of all presently running and planned long-baseline experiments. I emphasize descriptions of semi-inclusive reactions and full descriptions of the final state; the latter are needed to reconstruct the incoming neutrino energy from final-state observations. I then discuss Monte Carlo generator and more advanced transport theoretical approaches in connection with experimental results on various reaction mechanisms. Finally, I describe the effects of unc…
We explain the current status of nuclear parton distribution functions in connection with neutrino-nucleus interactions. Neutrino deep inelastic scattering (DIS) measurements have been done for heavy nuclear targets such as iron and lead. In order to extract structure functions of the nucleon, one needs to remove nuclear effects from the data. However, recent studies indicate that there are inconsistencies in nuclear modifications between charged-lepton and neutrino scattering measurements. Nuclear medium effects could be also an origin for the NuTeV anomaly in the weak-mixing angle. In additi…
Neutrinoless $ββ$ decay nuclear matrix elements calculated with the shell model and energy-density functional theory typically disagree by more than a factor of two in the standard scenario of light-neutrino exchange. In contrast, for a decay mediated by sterile heavy neutrinos the deviations are reduced to about 50\%, an uncertainty similar to the one due to short-range effects. We compare matrix elements in the light- and heavy-neutrino-exchange channels, exploring the radial, momentum transfer and angular momentum-parity matrix element distributions, and considering transitions that involve…
It is shown that the hole in the centre of $ ^{3}H $, $ ^{3}He $ and $ ^{4}He $, the neutron halos in nuclei, the $ α- $ and other clustering effects in nuclei and the nuclear molecules all basically arise due to the same underlying effect. We shall show that all these ground state properties of nuclei are manifestations of quark effects. The role of triton clustering in very neutron rich nuclei is emphasized. All these require the concept of hidden colour states which arise from confinement ideas of QCD for the multi-quark systems. This provides comprehensive understanding of diverse nuclear …
Neutrino long-baseline experiments nowadays all use nuclear targets. The extraction of neutrino oscillation parameters from such experiments requires a good understanding of the interaction of neutrinos with nuclei. In this talk we discuss results on quasielastic scattering and pion production which are the relevant processes in the neutrino energy regime around 1 GeV. We also discuss implications of the reaction mechanisms for the reconstruction of the neutrino energy which is not known a priori.
We present results for the $η_c$-nucleus bound state energies for various nuclei using an effective Lagrangians approach. The attractive potentials for the $η_c$ in the nuclear medium originate from the medium-modified intermediate $D D^{*}$ state in the $η_c$ self energy, using the local density approximation. Our results suggest that the $η_c$ should form bound states with all the nuclei considered
With the aim of achieving a better and more complete understanding of neutrino interactions with nuclear targets, the coherent production of charged kaons induced by neutrinos and antineutrinos is investigated in the energy range of some of the current neutrino experiments. We follow a microscopic approach which, at the nucleon level, incorporates the most important mechanisms allowed by the chiral symmetry breaking pattern of QCD. The distortion of the outgoing (anti)kaon is taken into account by solving the Klein-Gordon equation with realistic optical potentials. Angular and momentum distrib…
Half-life estimates for neutrinoless double beta decay depend on particle physics models for lepton flavor violation, as well as on nuclear physics models for the structure and transitions of candidate nuclei. Different models considered in the literature can be contrasted - via prospective data - with a "standard" scenario characterized by light Majorana neutrino exchange and by the quasiparticle random phase approximation, for which the theoretical covariance matrix has been recently estimated. We show that, assuming future half-life data in four promising nuclei (Ge-76, Se-82, Te-130, and X…
The extraction of neutrino properties from long-baseline experiments such as T2K, NOvA and DUNE requires a good description of the initial neutrino-nucleon interaction. Since the targets in all running or planned experiments are nuclei (C12, O16, Ar40) the extraction also requires a reliable description of nuclear structure and nuclear reactions that become essential during the final state interactions of the neutrino-nucleus reactions. This article presents a short introduction into these problems for a non-expert readership. It also stresses that a generator that implements state-of-the-art …
We investigate the interaction of neutrinos and antineutrinos with nuclei. We explore in particular the role played by the multinucleon excitations which can contaminate the quasielastic cross section. For neutrinos the multinucleon term produces a sizable increase of the quasielastic cross section. Part of the effect arises from tensor correlations. For antineutrinos this influence is smaller owing to the axial-vector interference which increases the relative importance of the terms which are not affected by these multinucleon excitations.
We analyse available experimental data on the total charged-current neutrino-nucleon and antineutrino-nucleon cross sections for quasielastic scattering and single-pion neutrinoproduction. Published results from the relevant experiments at ANL, BNL, FNAL, CERN, and IHEP are included dating from the end of sixties to the present day, covering muon neutrino and antineutrino beams on a variety of nuclear targets, with energies from the thresholds to about 350 GeV. The data are used to adjust the poorly known values of the axial masses.
We investigate neutrino-nucleus collisions at intermediate energies incorporating quasielastic scattering and Delta(1232) excitation as elementary processes, together with Fermi motion, Pauli blocking and mean-field potentials in the nuclear medium. A full coupled-channel treatment of final state interactions is achieved with a semiclassical BUU transport model. Results for inclusive reactions and nucleon knockout are presented.
We investigate neutrino-nucleus collisions at intermediate energies incorporating quasi-elastic scattering and the excitation of 13 resonances as elementary processes, taking into account medium effects such as Fermi motion, Pauli blocking, mean-field potentials and in-medium spectral functions. A coupled-channel treatment of final state interactions is achieved with the GiBUU transport model. Results for inclusive reactions, neutrino- and electron-induced, as well as for pion production and nucleon knockout are presented.
Determination of parton distribution functions in nuclei is important for calculating nuclear corrections in oscillation experiments, from which detailed information should be extracted on neutrino properties. First, nuclear parton distributions are discussed for explaining high-energy nuclear reaction data. Possible nuclear modification is explained for valence-quark and antiquark distributions. It is rather difficult to determine gluon distributions in nuclei. Next, reversing the topic, we discuss structure functions which could be investigated by neutrino reactions. Determination of polariz…
Due to a directional asymmetry of neutrino emission caused by parity violation, a sample of radioactive atoms experiences a small recoil force from neutrino radiation accompanying electron capture by polarized nuclei. An expression for this force is obtained for the case of allowed nuclear transitions. Prospects to measure this force by the use of modern micromechanical devices are considered. Numerical estimates for the force are presented for a number of most suitable radioactive isotopes. Potential applications for the weak interaction studies are discussed including the possibility to sear…
We propose a method to investigate the scenario that cosmic relic neutrinos are highly clustered around stars and galaxies, or dark-matter clusters, rather than uniformly distributed in the universe. Such a scenario can be detected or constrained by the interaction of high energy cosmic ray protons and nuclei with the cosmic neutrinos. There should be observable signature in the energy spectra of cosmic ray protons and nuclei for a neutrino clustering factor beyond $10^{13}$. We provide a relation on the signature onset positions between proton and nuclei spectra, and discuss possible support …
Experiments using nuclei to probe new physics beyond the Standard Model, such as neutrinoless $ββ$ decay searches testing whether neutrinos are their own antiparticle, and direct detection experiments aiming to identify the nature of dark matter, require accurate nuclear physics input for optimizing their discovery potential and for a correct interpretation of their results. This demands a detailed knowledge of the nuclear structure relevant for these processes. For instance, neutrinoless $ββ$ decay nuclear matrix elements are very sensitive to the nuclear correlations in the initial and final…
Bremsstrahlung of photons emitted during the scattering of $π^{+}$-mesons off nuclei is studied for the first time. Role of interactions between $π^{+}$-mesons and nuclei in the formation of the bremsstrahlung emission is analyzed in details. We discover essential contribution of emitted photons from nuclear part of Johnson-Satchler potential to the full spectrum, in contrast to the optical Woods-Saxon potential. We observe unusual essential influence of the nuclear part of both potentials on the spectrum at high photon energies. This phenomenon opens a new experimental way to study and check …
A possibility to produce a modulated monochromatic neutrino beam is discussed. Monochromatic neutrinos can be obtained in electron capture by nuclei of atoms or ions, in particular, by nuclei of hydrogen-like ions. It is shown that monochromatic neutrino beam from such hydrogen-like ions with nuclei of non-zero spin can be modulated because of different probabilities of electron capture from hyperfine states. Modulation arises by means of inducing of electromagnetic transitions between the hyperfine states. Requirements for the hydrogen-like ions with necessary properties are discussed. A list…
Obtaining tensor-polarized nuclei with spin $S\ge1$ via spin filtering upon nuclear beam transmission through an unpolarized target (spin dichroism effect)
In this talk various aspects of in-medium behavior of hadrons are discussed with an emphasis on observable effects. It is stressed that final state interactions can have a major effect on observables and thus have to be considered as part of the theory. This is demonstrated with examples from photo-nucleus and neutrino-nucleus interactions.
We show that chiral effective field theory (EFT) two-body currents provide important contributions to the quenching of low-momentum-transfer Gamow-Teller transitions, and use chiral EFT to predict the momentum-transfer dependence that is probed in neutrinoless double-beta decay. We then calculate for the first time the neutrinoless double-beta decay operator based on chiral EFT currents and study the nuclear matrix elements at successive orders. The contributions from chiral two-body currents are significant and should be included in all calculations.
We evaluate the cross-section for gamma production by neutrinos through a meson exchange effect which derives from the concept of axial-vector mixing. The resulting cross-section leads to some increase of the gamma production cross-section by neutrinos, especially at low neutrino energies, which may influence the understanding of the low energy excess of electron-like events seen in the MiniBooNE experiment.
Nuclear forces and the nuclear many-body problem have been some of Gerry Brown's main topics in his so productive life as a theoretical physicist. In this talk, I outline how Gerry's work laid the foundations of the modern theory of nuclear forces and ab initio calculations of atomic nuclei. I also present some recent developments obtained in the framework of nuclear lattice simulations.
We present a model for inclusive electron and neutrino scattering off nuclei paying special attention to the influence of in-medium effects on the quasi-elastic scattering and pion-production mechanisms. Our results for electron scattering off Oxygen are compared to experimental data at beam energies ranging from 0.7-1.5 GeV. The good description of electron scattering serves as a benchmark for neutrino scattering.
The elastic scattering of longitudinal and transversal neutrinos on a spinless nucleus have been discussed taking into account the charge, magnetic, anapole and electric dipole moments of fermions and their weak neutral currents. Compound structure of the neutrino interaction cross section with nuclei have been defined. Invariance of the considered process concerning the C - and P-operations have been investigated in the polarization type dependence.
Improvements in theoretical modeling of Short Range structures and phenomena, and comparisons with data, will require sustained collaboration between nuclear theorists and neutrino experimentalists. The extensive history of studying this area of nuclear physics in electron- and hadron-scattering experiments, coupled with the transformative capabilities of LArTPCs to identify neutrinos, will provide a ripe opportunity for new discoveries that will further our understanding of the nucleus.
The connection between neutrino physics, nucleosynthesis of elements in astrophysical sites, laboratory measurements with rare exotic nuclei and astronomical observations is discussed. The key role played by neutrinos is emphasized and the close connection between neutrino physics and nucleosynthesis is highlighted.
Nuclear Lattice Effective Field Theory is a new many-body approach that is firmly rooted in the symmetries of QCD. In particular, it allows for truly ab initio calculations of nuclear structure and reactions. In this talk, I focus on the emergence of alpha-clustering in nuclei based on this approach. I also discuss various recent achievements, the deficiencies of the chiral forces used at present and the prospects to improve upon these and the calculations of nuclear properties and dynamics.
This article describes calculations of the yield ratio of anti-particles to the yield of particles ($\bar{p}/p$, $\bar{d}/d$,$\overline{^{3}\mathrm{He}}$/$^{3}$He) in proton-proton and nuclear-nuclear interactions using the self-similarity parameter in the central rapidity region. The used approach is based on the study of relativistic nuclear interactions in the four-velocity space. The results of the calculations are compared with the existing experimental data in a wide center-of-mass energy range ($SPS$, $RHIC$, $LHC$). Within this approach the inclusive spectra of pions and kaons and rati…
We compare the nuclear corrections factors from neutrino deep-inelastic scattering (DIS) with the ones coming from a standard analysis of nuclear parton distribution functions (nPDF). We focus on a discrepancy between the most precise neutrino DIS data from NuTeV and the nuclear PDF coming from the analysis of charged lepton DIS and Drell-Yan data.
We present, using the statistical model, an analysis of the production of light nuclei, hypernuclei and their antiparticles in central collisions of heavy nuclei. Based on these studies we provide predictions for the production yields of multiply-strange light nuclei.
We extend the virial equation of state to include 3H and 3He nuclei, and predict significant mass-three fractions near the neutrinosphere in supernovae. While alpha particles are often more abundant, we demonstrate that energy transfer cross-sections for muon and tau neutrinos at low densities are dominated by breakup of the loosely-bound 3H and 3He nuclei. The virial coefficients involving A=3 nuclei are calculated directly from the corresponding nucleon-3H and nucleon-3He scattering phase shifts. For the neutral-current inelastic cross-sections and the energy transfer cross sections, we perf…
We show a relationship between elastic electron scattering observables and the elastic neutrino cross section that provides a straightforward determination of the latter from experimental data of the former and relates their uncertainties. An illustration of this procedure is presented using a Hartree-Fock mean field for the nuclear structure of a set of even-even nuclear targets, using the spectra of the neutrinos produced in pion decay at rest. We also analyze the prospects to measure the incoherent axial contribution to the neutrino elastic scattering in odd targets.
The ratio of pre-equilibrium neutrons to protons from collisions of neutron-rich nuclei is studied as a function of their kinetic energies. This ratio is found to be sensitive to the density dependence of the nuclear symmetry energy, but is independent of the compressibility of symmetric nuclear matter and the in-medium nucleon-nucleon cross sections. The experimental measurement of this ratio thus provides a novel means for determining the nuclear equation of state of asymmetric nuclear matter.
The long-standing puzzle of the quenched $g_A$ in nuclei -- and in dense matter -- is shown to have a simple resolution in a scale-symmetric HLS chiral Lagrangian at the Fermi-liquid fixed point. This resolution exposes scale-chiral symmetry, hidden in QCD in the vacuum, emerging in nuclear matter from low density to high compact-star density. It has important implications on "first principles" approaches to nuclear physics, such as the role of multi-body exchange currents in Gamow-Teller matrix elements in nuclei and in neutrinoless double $β$ decays for going Beyond the Standard Model.
This review article is focused on the tremendous progress realized during the last fifteen years in the understanding of multifragmentation and its relationship to the liquid-gas phase diagram of nuclei and nuclear matter. The explosion of the whole nucleus, early predicted by Bohr [N. Bohr, Nature 137 (1936) 351], is a very complex and rich subject which continues to fascinate nuclear physicists as well as theoreticians who extend the thermodynamics of phase transitions to finite systems.
The clear separation of scales observed in halo nuclei between the extended halo and the compact core makes these exotic nuclei a perfect subject for Effective Field Theory (EFT). Such description leads to a systematic expansion of the core-halo Hamiltonian, which naturally orders the nuclear-structure observables. In this short review, I show the advantage there is to include Halo-EFT descriptions within precise models of reactions. It helps identifying the nuclear-structure observables that matter in the description of the reactions, and enables us to easily bridge predictions of nuclear-str…
We compute the spin excess for the neutrinos radiated in the process of electron capture beta decay of partially polarized nuclei. The results of computation are presented for the $^{119}$Sb nuclei polarized by the strong hyperfine field in a ferromagnetic substance. This system was suggested as a possible source of directed neutrino radiation. We directly compute the spin excess of radiated neutrinos and show that it is greater than that estimated previously under simplifying assumptions.
The prospect of a rare isosotope accelerator facility opens up possibilities for a new generation of nuclear tests of fundamental symmetries. In this talk, I survey the current landscape of such tests and discuss future opportunities that a new facility might present.
All available theoretical estimates of neutrino-induced coherent pion production rely on the 'local approximation' for the Delta propagator. The validity of this approximation is scrutinized. It is found that the local approximation overestimates the neutrino-induced coherent pion production on nuclei significantly, by up to 100%.
Recently, a type of null experiment for spacelike neutrinos has been proposed. We examine in detail a class of null tests involving nuclear beta decay or capture in atoms and ions. The most promising candidate systems are identified.
Intermediate energy Coulomb excitation and dissociation is a useful tool for nuclear structure and astrophysics studies. Low-lying strength in nuclei far from stability was discovered by this method. The effective range theory for low-lying strength in one-neutron halo nuclei is summarized and extended to two-neutron halo nuclei. This is of special interest in view of recent rather accurate experimental results on the low-lying electric dipole strength in $^{11}$Li. Another indirect approach to nuclear astrophysics is the Trojan horse method. It is pointed out that it is a suitable tool to inv…
The nuclear electric dipole moment is a very sensitive probe of CP violation beyond the standard model, and for light nuclei, it can be evaluated accurately using few-body calculational methods. In this talk, we present the deuteron, $^3$He, $^3$H, $^6$Li, and $^9$Be electric dipole moments calculated using the Gaussian expansion method with a realistic nuclear force, and assuming the one-meson exchange model for the P, CP-odd nuclear force. We then give future prospects for models beyond the standard model such as the supersymmetry.
Nuclear matrix elements (NMEs) for two neutrino double beta decays are discussed in terms of the Fermi Surface Quasi-Particle (FSQP) Model. The evaluated NMEs agree with the observed NMEs . The new NMEs for two neutrino double beta decays from Kr78, Cd106, Ba130, and Pd110 were evaluated by FSQP. The NMEs show shell configuration dependence. Impacts of the FSQP NMEs for two neutrino double beta decays on the NMEs for neutrino less double beta decays are discussed.
The coherent pion production induced by neutrinos in nuclei is studied using a delta hole model in local density approximation taking into account the renormalization of $Δ$ properties in a nuclear medium. The pion absorption effects have been included in an eikonal approximation. These effects give a large reduction in the total cross section. The numerical results for the total cross section are found to be consistent with recent experimental results from K2K and MiniBooNE collaborations and other older experiments in the intermediate energy region.
We propose simple Monte Carlo method for calculating parton distribution in nuclei. The EMC effect is automatically included by means of two parameters, which characterize the change of nuclear pion field. Good agreement with experimental data in the broad range of variable x is obtained.
In this paper, we calculate cross sections for charged-current neutrino-nucleus processes occuring under presupernova conditions. To treat thermal effects we extend self-consistent Skyrme-QRPA calculations to finite temperature by using the formalism of thermo field dynamics. The numerical results are presented for the sample nuclei, $^{56}$Fe and $^{82}$Ge
In these proceedings, we discuss the current status of nuclear bound state predictions based on chiral nuclear interactions. Results of ordinary $s$- and $p$-shell nuclei and light hypernuclei are shown.
We present shell-model calculations showing that residual interaction-induced configuration mixing enhances the rate of neutral current de-excitation of thermally excited nuclei into neutrino-antineutrino pairs. Though our calculations reinforce the conclusions of previous studies that this process is the dominant source of neutrino pairs near the onset of neutrino trapping during stellar collapse, our shell-model result has the effect of increasing the energy of these pairs, possibly altering their role in entropy transport in supernovae.
