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 investigate the MiniBooNE recent data on the antineutrino nucleus interaction, using the same theoretical description with the same parameters as in previous works on neutrino interactions. The double differential quasielastic cross section, which is free from the energy reconstruction problem, is well reproduced by our model once the multinucleon excitations are incorporated. A similar agreement is achieved for the Q^2 distribution.
One of the largest sources of systematic uncertainties in ongoing neutrino-oscillation measurements is the description of nuclear effects. Its considerable reduction is expected thanks to the dedicated studies of (anti)neutrino-nucleus interactions in the MINERvA experiment. In this article, the calculations within the spectral function approach are compared to the charged-current quasielastic cross sections reported from MINERvA. The obtained results show that the effect of final-state interactions on the (anti)muon kinematics plays pivotal role in reproducing the experimental data.
We evaluate the quasielastic and multinucleon contributions to the antineutrino nucleus scattering cross section and compare our results with the recent MiniBooNE data. We use a local Fermi gas model that includes RPA correlations and gets the multinucleon part from a systematic many body expansion of the $W$ boson selfenergy in the nuclear medium. The same model had been quite successful for the neutrino cross section and contains no new parameters. We have also analysed the relevance of 2p2h events for the antineutrino energy reconstruction.
We evaluate quasielastic double-differential antineutrino cross sections obtained in a phenomenological model based on the superscaling behavior of electron scattering data and estimate the contribution of the vector meson-exchange currents in the 2p-2h sector. We show that the impact of meson-exchange currents for charge-changing antineutrino reactions is much larger than in the neutrino case.
The analysis of quasielastic neutrino and antineutrino-nucleus scattering cross sections requires relativistic theoretical descriptions also accounting for the role of final-state interactions (FSI). In the relativistic Green's function (RGF) model FSI are described by a complex optical potential where the imaginary part recovers the contribution of final-state channels that are not included in other models based on the impulse approximation. The RGF results are compared with the data recently published by the MiniBooNE and MINER$ν$A Collaborations. The model is in general able to give a good …
The analysis of the recent charged-current neutrino-nucleus scattering cross sections measured by the MiniBooNE Collaboration requires relativistic theoretical descriptions also accounting for the role of final-state interactions. In this work, we evaluate differential antineutrino-nucleus cross sections with the relativistic Green's function model, where the final-state interactions are described in the inclusive scattering consistently with the exclusive scattering using a complex optical potential. The sensitivity to the parameterization adopted for the phenomenological optical potential is…
Understanding the charged current quasielestic (CCQE) neutrino-nucleus interaction is important for precision studies of neutrino oscillations. The theoretical description of the interaction depends on the combination of a nuclear model with the knowledge of form factors. While the former has received considerable attention, the latter, in particular the axial form factor, is implemented using the historical dipole model. Instead, we use a model-independent approach, presented in a previous study, to analyze the muon antineutrino CCQE mineral oil data published by the MiniBooNE collaboration. …
The quasielastic charged-current (CC) tau neutrino (antineutrino)-nucleus scattering is considered. The dependence of tau polarization on nuclear-structure effects is discussed in detail. The description of the nucleus is based on the Mean-Field Theory (MFT). The ground state of nucleus is described using the Relativistic Fermi Gas model (FG). The effective mass is introduced as well as the ring Random Phase Approximation (RPA) effects are taken into account in the framework of relativistic meson-nucleon model. The Local Density Approximation (LDA) is used for the argon nucleus, having in mind…
In the study of neutrino and antineutrino interactions in the GeV regime, kinematic imbalances of the final-state particles have sensitivities to different nuclear effects. Previous ideas based on neutrino quasielastic interactions [Phys. Rev. C94, 015503 (2016), Phys. Rev. C95, 065501 (2017)] are now generalized to antineutrino quasielastic interactions, as well as neutrino and antineutrino pion productions. Measurements of these generalized final-state correlations could provide unique and direct constraints on the nuclear response inherently different for neutrinos and antineutrinos, and th…
We have studied the differential cross section as well as the longitudinal and perpendicular components of polarization of final hyperon($Λ$,$Σ$) produced in the antineutrino induced quasielastic charged current reactions on nucleon and nuclear targets. The nucleon-hyperon transition form factors are determined from the experimental data on quasielastic $(ΔS =0)$ charged current (anti)neutrino--nucleon scattering and the semileptonic decay of neutron and hyperons assuming G--invariance, T--invariance and SU(3) symmetry. The vector transition form factors are obtained in terms of nucleon electr…
The effect of the second class currents with and without time reversal invariance has been studied in the quasielastic production of nucleons and hyperons induced by neutrinos and antineutrinos from the nucleons. The numerical results are presented for the total scattering cross section~($σ$) as well as for the longitudinal, perpendicular and transverse components of the polarization of the final baryons ($p$, $n$, $Λ$, $Σ^-$, $Σ^0$) and muon produced in the quasielastic (anti)neutrino-nucleon scattering induced by the weak charged current. In the case of the production of $Λ$ hyperon, which i…
In this review, we have studied the quasielastic production cross sections and polarization components of $Λ$, $Σ^0$ and $Σ^-$ hyperons induced by the weak charged currents in the antineutrino reactions on the nucleon and the nuclear targets like $^{12}$C, $^{16}$O, $^{40}$Ar and $^{208}$Pb. It is shown that the energy and the $Q^2$ dependence of the cross sections and the various polarization components can be effectively used to determine the axial vector transition form factors in the strangeness sector and test the validity of various symmetry properties of the weak hadronic currents like …
Nuclear effects on neutrino reactions are expected to be a significant complication in current and future neutrino oscillation experiments seeking precision measurements of neutrino flavor transitions. Calculations of these nuclear effects are hampered by a lack of experimental data comparing neutrino reactions on free nucleons to neutrino reactions on nuclei. We present results from a novel technique that compares neutrino and antineutrino charged current quasielastic scattering on hydrocarbons to extract a cross section ratio of antineutrino charged current elastic reactions on free protons …
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 discuss the nuclear interactions of neutrinos versus those of antineutrinos, a relevant comparison for CP violation experiments in the neutrino sector. We consider the MiniBooNE quasielastic-like double differential neutrinos and antineutrinos cross sections which are flux dependent and hence specific to the MiniBooNE set-up. We combine them introducing their sum and their difference. We show that the last combination can bring a general information, which can be exploited in other experiments, on the nuclear matrix elements of the axial vector interference term. Our theoretical model repro…
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.
Quasielastic antineutrino/proton and neutrino/neutron scatterings can be well approximated by simple formulae, valid around MeV or GeV energies. We obtain a single expression valid in the whole range, and discuss its relevance for studies of supernova neutrinos, which reach intermediate energies.
The theoretical results for the total cross sections and polarization components of the $τ^{+}$ lepton produced in the charged current induced $|ΔS| = 1$ quasielastic $\barν_τ- N$ scattering leading to hyperons ($Λ, Σ$) have been presented assuming T invariance. The theoretical uncertainties arising due to the use of different vector, axial vector and pseudoscalar form factors as well as the effect of SU(3) symmetry breaking have been studied. We have also presented, for the first time, a comparison of the total cross sections for the production of $e,μ,τ$ leptons to facilitate the implication…
The superscaling approach is applied to studies of neutral current neutrino reactions in the quasielastic regime. Using input from scaling analyses of electron scattering data, predictions for high-energy neutrino and antineutrino cross sections are given and compared with results obtained using the relativistic Fermi gas model. The influence of strangeness content inside the nucleons in the nucleus is also explored.
We analyze available experimental data on the total and differential charged-current cross sections for quasielastic neutrino and antineutrino scattering off nucleons, measured with a variety of nuclear targets in the accelerator experiments at ANL, BNL, FNAL, CERN, and IHEP, dating from the end of sixties to the present day. The data are used to adjust the poorly known value of the axial-vector mass of the nucleon.
A numerical analysis of the polarization vector of tau leptons produced through quasielastic neutrino and antineutrino interactions with free nucleons is given with two models for vector electromagnetic form factors of proton and neutron. The impact of G parity violating axial and vector second-class currents is investigated by applying a simple heuristic model for the induced scalar and tensor form factors.
The study of electromagnetic and weak form factors of nucleon (charged quasielastic scatterings of neutrino (antineutrino) and nucleon) done in $70^\prime s$ and published in Chinese journals is reviewed. In the approach of the study antiquark components are introduced to the wave functions of nucleon and the study shows that the antiquark components of nucleon play an essential role in the EM and weak form factors of nucleon. The SU(6) symmetric wave functions of baryons in the rest frame ( s-wave in the rest frame) have been constructed. In these wave functions there are both quark and antiq…
The work concerns the quasielastic charged current neutrino-neutron and antineutrino-proton interactions. Single, double, and triple spin asymmetries are computed and analyzed. The spin asymmetries are sensitive to the axial form factor of the nucleon. In particular, the target-recoil double spin asymmetry and the lepton-target-recoil triple spin asymmetry depend strongly on the axial form factor of the nucleon. Indeed, the sign and shape of these components depend on the axial mass parameter. All the asymmetries, except the lepton polarization, are observables well suited to study the nonstan…
We derive structure functions for the quasielastic production of octet baryons in neutrino and antineutrino interactions with nucleons and study the polarization of tau leptons produced in the $Δ{Y}=0$ reactions. Possible impact of the charged second-class currents is investigated by adopting a simple phenomenological parametrization for the nonstandard scalar and tensor nucleon form factors. Our choice of the unknown parameters is made to satisfy the limits obtained in the (anti)neutrino scattering experiments and rigid restrictions derived from the nuclear structure studies.
We have made a thorough investigation of the nuclear structure function W_2A in the region of 0.8 < x < 1.5 and Q^2 < 20 GeV^2, separating the quasielastic and inelastic plus deep inelastic contributions. The agreement with present experimental data is good giving support to the results for both channels. Predictions are made in yet unexplored regions of x and Q^2 to assert the weight of the quasielastic or inelastic channels. We find that at Q^2 < 4 GeV^2 the structure function is dominated by the quasielastic contributions for x < 1.5, while for values of Q^2 > 15 GeV^2 and the range of x st…
We perform a combined analysis of inclusive electron scattering data from $A=3$ nuclei in the deep-inelastic and quasielastic scattering regions, using Monte Carlo analysis methods and the nuclear weak binding approximation to establish the range over which the data can be described within the same theoretical framework. Comparison with quasielastic $^3$He cross sections from SLAC and Jefferson Lab suggests that most features of the $x \gtrsim 1$ data can be reasonably well described in the impulse approximation with finite-$Q^2$ nuclear smearing functions for momentum transfers $Q^2 \gtrsim 1…
We present the results for antineutrino induced quasielastic hyperon production from nucleon and nuclear targets \cite{Alam:2014bya,Singh:2006xp}. The inputs are the nucleon-hyperon(N--Y) transition form factors determined from the analysis of neutrino-nucleon scattering and semileptonic decays of neutron and hyperons using SU(3) symmetry. The calculations for the nuclear targets are done in local density approximation. The nuclear medium effects(NME) like Fermi motion, Pauli blocking and final state interaction(FSI) effects due to hyperon-nucleon scattering have been taken into account. The h…
Spectral functions that are used in neutrino event generators to model quasielastic (QE) scattering from nuclear targets include Fermi gas, Local Thomas Fermi gas (LTF), Bodek-Ritchie Fermi gas with high momentum tail, and the Benhar-Fantoni two dimensional spectral function. We find that the $ν$ dependence of predictions of these spectral functions for the QE differential cross sections (${d^2σ}/{dQ^2 dν}$) are in disagreement with the prediction of the $ψ'$ superscaling function which is extracted from fits to quasielastic electron scattering data on nuclear targets. It is known that spectra…
It's a common knowledge that the quasielastic neutrino-neutron and antineutrino-proton cross sections tend to the same constant as (anti)neutrino energy becomes high. In this paper we calculate the exact expression of the limit in terms of the parameters describing quasielastic scattering. We check that even at very high energies only small absolute values of the four-momentum transfer contribute to the cross section, hence the Fermi theory can be applied. The dipole approximation of the form factors allows to perform analytic calculations. Obtained results are neutrino-flavour independent.
Spectral functions do not fully describe quasielastic electron and neutrino scattering from nuclei because they only model the initial state. Final state interactions distort the shape of the differential cross section at the peak and increase the cross section at the tails of the distribution. We show that the kinematic distributions predicted by the $ψ'$ superscaling formalism can be well described with a modified {\it {effective spectral function}} (ESF). By construction, models using ESF in combination with the transverse enhancement contribution correctly predict electron QE scattering da…
We present a model for electron- and neutrino-scattering off nucleons and nuclei focussing on the quasielastic and resonance region. The lepton-nucleon reaction is described within a relativistic formalism that includes, besides quasielastic scattering, the excitation of 13 N* and Delta resonances and a non-resonant single-pion background. Recent electron-scattering data is used for the state-of-the-art parametrizations of the vector form factors; the axial couplings are determined via PCAC and, in the case of the Delta resonance, the axial form factor is refitted using neutrino-scattering dat…
We report the results of a theoretical study of quasielastic electron and neutrino interactions with carbon. Our approach takes into account the effects of final-state interactions between the struck nucleon and the residual nucleus, neglected in the impulse approximation, through a generalization of the spectral function formalism. The calculated electron-scattering cross sections turn out to be in very good agreement with the available data over a broad kinematical region. The impact of nuclear effects on the reconstruction of neutrino energy in charged-current quasielastic processes is also…
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 weak and pseudoscalar form factors. We find that using the updated non-zero value of $G_E^n$ has a significant effect on both the total and differential neutrino and antineutrino quasielastic cross sections. Previous extractions of the weak axial form factor from neutrino scattering data are sensitive to the assumptions that were used for the vector form factors.…
We analyze charged-current electron-neutrino cross sections on Carbon. We consider two different theoretical approaches, on one hand the Continuum Random Phase Approximation (CRPA) which allows a description of giant resonances and quasielastic excitations, on the other hand the RPA-based calculations which are able to describe multinucleon emission and coherent and incoherent pion production as well as quasielastic excitations. We compare the two approaches in the genuine quasielastic channel, and find a satisfactory agreement between them at large energies while at low energies the collectiv…
We compare the predictions of the SuperScaling model for charged current quasielastic muonic neutrino and antineutrino scattering from $^{12}$C with experimental data spanning an energy range up to 100 GeV. We discuss the sensitivity of the results to different parametrizations of the nucleon vector and axial-vector form factors. Finally, we show the differences between electron and muon (anti-)neutrino cross sections relevant for the $ν$STORM facility.
Implementation of the Martini-Ericson-Chanfray-Marteau RPA-based neutrino and antineutrino cross-section model in the GENIE neutrino event generator
Sorbonne Université, CNRS/IN2P3, Laboratoire de Physique Nucléaire et de Hautes Energies (LPNHE)（索邦大学）；IPSA-DRII；CERN, European Organization for Nuclear Research（欧洲核子研究中心）
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…
High-quality charged current quasielastic scattering data have recently been reported for both muon neutrinos and antineutrinos from several accelerator-based neutrino experiments. Measurements from MiniBooNE were the first to indicate that more complex nuclear effects, now thought to be the result of nucleon pair correlations, may contribute to neutrino quasielastic samples at a much higher significance than previously assumed. These findings are now being tested by MINER$ν$A and other contemporary neutrino experiments. Presented here is a comparison of data from MiniBooNE and MINER$ν$A to a …
Capturing low-energy electron antineutrinos on radioactive Ho-163 nuclei, which decay into Dy-163 via electron capture (EC), is a noteworthy opportunity to detect relic sterile antineutrinos. Such hypothetical particles are more or less implied by current experimental and cosmological data, and they might be a part of hot dark matter or a candidate for warm dark matter in the Universe. Using the isotope Ho-163 as a target and assuming reasonable active-sterile antineutrino mixing angles, we calculate the capture rate of relic electron antineutrinos against the corresponding EC-decay background…
We present a covariant extension of the relativistic Fermi gas model which incorporates correlation effects in nuclei. Within this model, inspired by the BCS descriptions of systems of fermions, we obtain the nuclear spectral function and from it the superscaling function for use in treating high-energy quasielastic electroweak processes. Interestingly, this model has the capability to yield the asymmetric tail seen in the experimental scaling function.
The electron capture decay of the isotope 163-Ho has been proposed since a long time as a candidate for measuring the electron neutrino mass and recently the interest on this idea has been renewed. In this paper we note that a direct observation of the cosmic antineutrino background could be made using a target made of this isotope. We further discuss the requests for an experiment aiming to obtain this result.
Background: Nuclear effects can have a significant impact on neutrino-nucleus interactions. In particular, data from neutrino experiments with broad energy distributions require complex theoretical models that are able to take all the relevant channels into account as well as incorporate nuclear effects in both initial and final-state interactions. Purpose: We investigate neutrino and antineutrino scattering on iron and carbon in the energy range from 1 to 30 GeV, which is relevant to current and coming experiments (MINOS, NOvA, and Minerva). Method: The Giessen Boltzmann--Uehling--Uhlenbeck (…
The quasielastic production cross sections and polarizations of the hyperons induced by ${\barν}_μ$ on the free nucleon as well as from $^{40}$Ar in the sub-GeV energy region has been reviewed [1-5]. The effects of the second class currents in the axial vector sector with and without T-invariance as well as the effect of SU(3) symmetry breaking are also studied. We find that the cross sections and the various polarization components can effectively be used to determine the axial vector transition form factors in the strangeness sector and to test the validity of various symmetries of the weak …
Possibilities to extract information on the strange form factors of the nucleon from neutrino (antineutrino) inelastic scattering on nuclei, in an energy range from 200 MeV to 1 GeV and more, are investigated in detail. All calculations are performed within two relativistic independent particle models (Fermi gas and shell model); the final state interactions of the ejected nucleon are taken into account through relativistic optical model potentials. We have shown that the values of the cross sections significantly depend on the nuclear model (especially in the lower energy range). However the …
We consider $J/ψ$ photoproduction in ion--ion ultraperipheral collisions (UPCs) at the LHC and RHIC in the coherent and incoherent quasielastic channels with and without accompanying forward neutron emission and analyze the role of nuclear gluon shadowing at small $x$, $x=10^{-4}-10^{-2}$, in these processes. We find that despite the good agreement between large nuclear gluon shadowing and the ALICE data in the coherent channel, in the incoherent channel, the leading twist approximation predicts the amount of nuclear suppression which is by approximately a factor of $1.5$ exceeds that seen in …
We review some recent progress in the study of electroweak interactions in nuclei within the SuSAv2-MEC model. The model has the capability to predict (anti)neutrino scattering observables on different nuclei. The theoretical predictions are compared with the recent T2K $ν_μ-^{16}$O data and good agreement is found at all kinematics. The results are very similar to those obtained for $ν_μ-^{12}$C scattering, except at low energies, where some differences emerge. The role of meson-exchange currents in the two-particle two-hole channel is analyzed in some detail. In particular it is shown that t…
The first measurements of antineutrino charged-current quasielastic ($\numub$ CCQE, $\numu + N \to \mup + N'$) and neutral-current elastic ($\numub$ NCE, $\numu + N \to \numu + N$) cross sections with $< E_{\barν} >$ $<$ 1 GeV are presented. To maximize the precision of these measurements, many data-driven background measurements were executed, including a first demonstration of charge separation using a non-magnetized detector. Apart from extending our knowledge of antineutrino interactions by probing a new energy range, these measurements constrain signal and background processes for current…
In this paper we present a study of the interaction of low energy electron antineutrino on nuclei that undergo electron capture. We show that the two corresponding crossed reactions have a sizeable cross section and are both suitable for detection of low energy antineutrino. However, only in case very specific conditions on the Q-value of the decay are met or significant improvements on the performances of ion storage rings are achieved, these reactions could be exploited in the future to address the long standing problem of a direct detection of Cosmological Neutrino Background.
We consider the possibility of detecting relic anti-neutrinos by their resonant absorption in a nucleus, which can undergo electron capture. This possibility appears quite realistic in view of recent developments in Penning Trap Mass Spectrometry and cryogenic micro-calorimetry.
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.
Superscaling analyses of few-GeV inclusive electron scattering from nuclei are extended to include not only quasielastic processes, but now also into the region where $Δ$-excitation dominates. It is shown that, with reasonable assumptions about the basic nuclear scaling function extracted from data and information from other studies of the relative roles played by correlation and MEC effects, the residual strength in the resonance region can be accounted for through an extended scaling analysis. One observes scaling upon assuming that the elementary cross section by which one divides the resid…
We compare the coherent and quasielastic J/psi photoproduction in the peripheral heavy ion collisions in kinematics of RHIC. Our improved estimate of the total coherent cross section is a factor of two smaller than the earlier ones. We find that the counting rate of quasielastic J/psi photoproduction tagged by neutrons emitted due to cascading of the recoiled nucleon within the residual nucleus exceeds the rate of the coherent events. We argue that measurements of this process can be used to learn about the dynamics of color dipole-nucleon interactions in nuclei in the wide effective range of …
