Neutrino–nucleus cross sections for oscillation experiments

Abstract

Abstract. Neutrino oscillations physics is entered in the precision era. In this context accelerator-based neutrino experiments need a reduction of systematic errors to the level of a few percent. Today one of the most important sources of systematic errors are neutrinonucleus cross sections which in the hundreds-MeV to few-GeV energy region are known with a precision not exceeding 20%. In this article we review the present experimental and theoretical knowledge of the neutrino-nucleus interaction physics. After introducing neutrino oscillation physics and accelerator-based neutrino experiments, we overview general aspects of the neutrino-nucleus cross sections, both theoretical and experimental views. Then, we focus on these quantities in different reaction channels. We start with the quasielastic and quasielastic-like cross section, putting a special emphasis on multinucleon emission channel which attracted a lot of attention in the last few years. We review the main aspects of the different microscopic models for this channel by discussing analogies and differences among them. The discussion is always driven by a comparison with the experimental data. We then consider the one pion production channel where data-theory agreement remains very unsatisfactory. We describe how to interpret pion data, then we analyze in particular the puzzle related to the impossibility of theoretical models and Monte Carlo to simultaneously describe MiniBooNE and MINERvA experimental results. Inclusive cross sections are also discussed, as well as the comparison between the ν µ and ν e cross sections, relevant for the CP violation experiments. The impact of the nuclear effects on the reconstruction of neutrino energy and on the determination of the neutrino oscillation parameters is reviewed. A window to the future is finally opened by discussing projects and efforts in future detectors, beams, and analysis.

New constraints on oscillation parameters fromνeappearance andνμdisappearance in the NOvA experiment

“…The normalization of the MEC component is recomputed under each of these uncertainties using the same fit procedure used to arrive at the 20% scale factor for the central value prediction. Third, it is now believed that the inflated value of the axial mass in quasielastic scattering (M QE A ) obtained in recent neutrinonucleus scattering experiments relative to the light liquid bubble chamber measurements is due to nuclear effects [48] that we are now treating explicitly with the foregoing. We thus reduce GENIE's uncertainty for M QE A to AE5% (a conservative estimate of the bubble chamber range [49,50]) from its default of þ25% −15% , while retaining GENIE's central value M QE A ¼ 0.99 GeV=c 2 .…”

Analysis of quasielastic (e,e′) electromagnetic responses and scaling for nuclear matter in the relativistic mean field model

“…Although not explicitly written, the previous expressions for the nuclear response functions, that hold separately for protons and neutrons, incorporate both contributions as shown in (2,3). Furthermore, they can be rewritten by introducing the electric and magnetic form factors of the nucleon, i.e., G E and G M .…”

“…In recent years physicists have devoted a great effort to the investigation of neutrino properties through the analysis of neutrino oscillation experiments [1,2]. The main objective is to measure the leptonic CP violation phase, assessing the neutrino mass hierarchy, and improve our present knowledge on the oscillation mixing angles.…”

Observing EeV neutrinos through Earth: GZK and the anomalous ANITA events

“…Measurements of neutrino cross sections have been performed from sub-GeV up to a few PeV energies [52]. This includes a multitude of results using human-made neutrinos in accelerator [53,54] and reactor [55,56] experiments, as well as natural sources such as solar [57], atmospheric [58], and astrophysical neutrinos [59,60]; for recent reviews see [61,62]. In the future, measurements of high-energy neutrinos from collider experiments will be available in the TeV range [63,64].…”