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Relativistic models for quasi-elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering

Abstract

Two relativistic approaches to charged-current quasielastic neutrino-nucleus scattering are illustrated and compared: one is phenomenological and based on the superscaling behavior of electron scattering data and the other relies on the microscopic description of nuclear dynamics in relativistic mean field theory. The role of meson exchange currents in the two-particle two-hole sector is explored. The predictions of the models for differential and total cross sections are presented and compared with the MiniBooNE data.

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Relativistic models for quasi-elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering

Author: Barbaro, M. B.; Amaro Soriano, José Enrique; Caballero Carretero, Juan Antonio; Donnelly, T. W.; Udías, J. M.
Publisher: American Institute of Physics
Year: 2012
DOI: 10.1063/1.3700571
Source: https://idus.us.es/bitstreams/b4a58e49-b7ea-4c32-8eaf-2f58e1946f68/download
a Xi :1108.5202 1 [nucl- h] 25 Aug 2011
Rela i is ic Models o Quasi-Elas ic Neu ino-Nucleus
Sca e ing
M.B. Ba ba o∗, J.E. Ama o†, J.A. Caballe o∗∗, T.W. Donnelly‡and J.M. Udías§
∗Uni e si à di To ino and INFN, Sezione di To ino, 10125 To ino, ITALY
†Uni e sidad de G anada, 18071 G anada, SPAIN
∗∗ Uni e sidad de Se illa, 41080 Se illa, SPAIN
‡CTP, LNS and Depa men o Physics, MIT, Camb idge, MA 02139, USA
§Uni e sidad Complu ense de Mad id, 28040 Mad id, SPAIN
Abs ac . Two ela i is ic app oaches o cha ged-cu en quasielas ic neu ino-nucleus sca e ing a e illus a ed and com-
pa ed: one is phenomenological and based on he supe scaling beha io o elec on sca e ing da a and he o he elies on
he mic oscopic desc ip ion o nuclea dynamics in ela i is ic mean ield heo y. The ole o meson exchange cu en s in he
wo-pa icle wo-hole sec o is explo ed. The p edic ions o he models o di e en ial and o al c oss sec ions a e p esen ed
and compa ed wi h he MiniBooNE da a.
Keywo ds: Neu ino in e ac ions; Rela i is ic mean ield heo y; Meson exhcange cu en s; Supe scaling; Quasielas ic sca e ing.
PACS: 25.30.P , 13.15.+g, 24.10.J [P esen ed by M.B. Ba ba o a PANIC 2011, MIT, Camb idge, MA. July 2011]
The ecen MiniBooNE da a on muon neu ino cha ged-cu en quasielas ic (CCQE) sca e ing [1] ha e aised
an impo an deba e on he ole played by bo h nuclea and nucleonic ing edien s en e ing in he desc ip ion o he
eac ion. Unexpec edly, he c oss sec ion u ns ou o be subs an ially unde es ima ed by he Rela i is ic Fe mi Gas
(RFG) p edic ion, unless an unusually la ge ad hoc alue o he axial mass MA≃1.35 GeV/c2(as compa ed o he
s anda d alue MA≃1 GeV/c2) is employed in he dipole pa ame iza ion o he nucleon axial o m ac o . F om
compa ison wi h elec on sca e ing da a he RFG model is known, howe e , o be oo c ude o accoun o he nuclea
dynamics: he e o e his esul should be aken mo e as an indica ion o incomple eness o he heo e ical desc ip ion
o he nuclea many-body p oblem a he han as a ue indica ion o a la ge axial mass.
A he le el o he impulse app oxima ion (IA), a numbe o much mo e sophis ica ed desc ip ions o he nuclea
dynamics o he han he RFG also unde p edic he measu ed CCQE c oss sec ion (see, e.g., Re . [2] o a ull
lis o e e ences, ha we omi he e o loss o space). Possible explana ions o his puzzle ha e been p oposed in
he li e a u e, based ei he on mul inucleon knockou o on pa icula ea men s o inal s a e in e ac ions h ough
phenomenological op ical po en ials, indica ing ha con ibu ions beyond he simple IA play an impo an ole in QE
neu ino eac ions.
He e we summa ize he esul s o Re s. [3, 4, 5], whe e he p edic ions o he ollowing wo ela i is ic models we e
compa ed wi h each o he and wi h he MiniBooNE da a:
1. he Supe Scaling App oach (SuSA) including 2p2h Meson Exchange Cu en s (MEC);
2. he Rela i is ic Mean Field model (RMF).
Bo h models, al hough being a mo e ealis ic han he RFG, sha e wi h i he impo an p ope y o ea ing exac ly
he ela i is ic aspec s o he p oblem: hese canno be neglec ed o he kinema ics o MiniBooNE, whe e he neu ino
ene gy eaches alues as high as 3 GeV.
The “SuSA” app oach [3] is based on he assumed uni e sali y o he scaling unc ion o elec omagne ic and
weak in e ac ions. Analyses o inclusi e (e,e′)da a ha e demons a ed ha a ene gy ans e s below he QE peak
supe scaling is ul illed a he well: his means ha he educed c oss sec ion is la gely independen o he momen um
ans e (I-kind scaling) and nuclea a ge (II-kind scaling), when ep esen ed as a unc ion o he app op ia e scaling
a iable. F om hese analyses a phenomenological scaling unc ion, d ama ically di e en in size and shape om he
RFG pa abola, has been ex ac ed om he longi udinal QE elec on sca e ing esponse and used o p edic neu ino-
nucleus c oss sec ions by mul iplying i by he co esponding elemen a y weak c oss sec ions. The model ep oduces
by cons uc ion he longi udinal elec on sca e ing esponse a all kinema ics and o all nuclei. I s limi a ions come
om he assump ions on which he app oach is based, namely: 1) he equali y o he longi udinal and ans e se
SuSA+MEC
SuSA
RMF
0.8<cos θ < 0.9
Tµ(GeV)
d2σ/d cos θ/dTµ(10−39 cm2/GeV)
21.510.50
25
20
15
10
5
0
0.6<cos θ < 0.7
Tµ(GeV)
d2σ/d cos θ/dTµ(10−39 cm2/GeV)
1.210.80.60.40.20
20
15
10
5
0
0.4<cos θ < 0.5
Tµ(GeV)
d2σ/d cos θ/dTµ(10−39 cm2/GeV)
1.210.80.60.40.20
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
FIGURE 1. Flux-in eg a ed
νµ
-12C CCQE double di e en ial c oss sec ion pe a ge nucleon e alua ed in he SuSA model wi h
and wi hou inclusion o 2p2h MEC and in he RMF model and displayed e sus he muon kine ic ene gy T
µ
o a ious bins o he
muon sca e ing angle cos
θ
. He e and in he ollowing igu es he da a a e om MiniBooNE [1].
SuSA+MEC
SuSA
RMF
0.2< Tµ<0.3 GeV
cos θ
d2σ/d cos θ/dTµ(10−39 cm2/GeV)
0.80.60.40.20-0.2-0.4-0.6-0.8-1
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
0.4< Tµ<0.5 GeV
cos θ
d2σ/d cos θ/dTµ(10−39 cm2/GeV)
0.80.60.40.20-0.2-0.4
20
15
10
5
0
0.6< Tµ<0.7 GeV
cos θ
d2σ/d cos θ/dTµ(10−39 cm2/GeV)
0.90.80.70.60.50.40.30.20.1
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
FIGURE 2. Same as Fig. 1, bu now displayed e sus he sca e ing angle cos
θ
o a ious bins o T
µ
.
scaling unc ions (0-kind scaling), a p ope y iola ed by he L/T sepa a ed da a, which show a ans e se scaling
unc ion ypically la ge han he longi udinal one; 2) he equali y o he scaling unc ions in di e en isospin channels
(III-kind scaling), which allows o use he longi udinal elec on sca e ing da a (ha ing bo h isoscala and iso ec o
componen s) o p edic he pu ely iso ec o CC neu ino c oss sec ion.
The esul s o he SuSA model o he double di e en ial, single di e en ial and o al CCQE neu ino c oss sec ions
a e shown in Figs. 1-3, whe e hey appea o all below he da a o mos o he angle and ene gy bins. No e ha we do
no compa e wi h he mos o wa d angles (0.9<cos
θ
<1) since o such kinema ics oughly 1/2 o he c oss sec ion
has been p o ed [4] o a ise om e y low exci a ion ene gies (<50 MeV), whe e he c oss sec ion is domina ed by
collec i e exci a ions and any app oach based on IA is bound o ail.
To go beyond he SuSA app oach one mus ake in o accoun supe scaling iola ions, which occu mainly in he
ans e se channel a ene gies abo e he QE peak and a e associa ed o non-impulsi e e ec s, like inelas ic sca e ing
and meson-exchange cu en s. The la e a e wo-body cu en s ca ied by a i ual meson exchanged be ween wo
bound nucleons and can exci e bo h 1p1h and 2p2h s a es. In he 1p1h sec o , s udies o elec omagne ic (e,e′)p ocess
ha e shown ha he MEC, when combined wi h he co esponding co ela ions, which a e needed o p ese e gauge
in a iance, gi e a small con ibu ion o he QE c oss sec ion and can be neglec ed in i s app oxima ion. On he o he
hand in he 2p2h sec o he MEC a e known o gi e a signi ican posi i e con ibu ion o he (e,e′)c oss sec ion a
high ene gy ans e s, leading o a pa ial illing o he “dip” be ween he QE and ∆- esonance peaks. This egion is
ele an o he MiniBooNE expe imen , whe e “QE” e en s (namely wi h no eal pions in he inal s a e) can in ol e
ans e ed ene gies a beyond he QE peak, due o he la ge ene gy ange spanned by he neu ino lux.
In he esul s p esen ed in Figs. 1-3 we ha e used a ully ela i is ic model, de eloped o use in elec on sca e ing
s udies, whe e all he MEC many-body diag ams con aining wo pionic lines ha con ibu e o he elec omagne ic
2p2h ans e se esponse a e aken in o accoun . In o de o apply he model o neu ino sca e ing, we obse e ha
in lowes o de he 2p2h sec o is no di ec ly eachable o he axial- ec o ma ix elemen s. Hence a his o de he
MEC a ec only he ans e se pola ec o esponse. As shown in Figs. 1-3, he inclusion o 2p2h MEC in he SuSA
app oach yields la ge c oss sec ions and acco dingly be e ag eemen wi h he da a, bu heo y s ill lies below he da a
a la ge angles whe e he c oss sec ions a e smalle . I should be no ed, howe e , ha he p esen app oach s ill lacks
RMF
SuSA+MEC
SuSA
RFG
Tµ(GeV)
dσ/dTµ(10−39 cm2/GeV)
21.510.50
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
RMF
SuSA+MEC
SuSA
RFG
cos θ
dσ/d cos θ(10−39 cm2)
10.50-0.5-1
25
20
15
10
5
0
RMF
SuSA+MEC
SuSA
RFG
Eν(GeV)
σ(10−39 cm2)
21.510.50
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
FIGURE 3. Flux-a e aged
νµ
-12CCCQE c oss sec ion in eg a ed o e he sca e ing angle and displayed e sus he muon kine ic
ene gy (le panel), in eg a ed o e he muon kine ic ene gy and displayed e sus sca e ing angle (cen e panel), in eg a ed o e
he muon kine ic ene gy and sca e ing angle and displayed e sus he un olded neu ino ene gy ( igh panel). Beyond he models
desc ibed in he ex , he RFG esul is also shown o compa ison.
he con ibu ions om he co ela ion diag ams associa ed wi h he MEC which a e equi ed by gauge in a iance;
hese migh imp o e he ag eemen wi h he da a, as sugges ed by ecen esul s o inclusi e elec on sca e ing [6].
Be o e d awing de ini i econclusions on he anomalousaxial mass, i is impo an o explo e al e na i e app oaches
ha ha e been shown o be success ul in desc ibing inclusi e QE (e,e′)p ocesses. This is he case o he RMF
model, whe e a ully ela i is ic desc ip ion (kinema ics and dynamics) o he p ocess is inco po a ed, and inal s a e
in e ac ions a e aken in o accoun by using he same ela i is ic scala and ec o ene gy-independen po en ials
conside ed in he desc ip ion o he ini ial bound s a es. The RMF model applied o inclusi e QE (e,e′)p ocesses
has been shown o desc ibe he scaling beha iou and, in con as wi h mos o he nuclea models, o gi e ise o
a supe scaling unc ion wi h a signi ican asymme y, in comple e acco d wi h da a. Mo eo e , con a y o SuSA,
whe e scaling o he ze o h kind is assumed, he RMF model p o ides longi udinal and ans e se scaling unc ions
which di e by ypically 20%, he T one being la ge . When applied o he desc ip ion o CCQE neu ino-nucleus
c oss sec ions, he 0-kind scaling iola ion in oduced by he RMF app oach, as well as he di e en isospin cha ac e
shown by he elec omagne ic and weak nucleon o m ac o s, can lead o signi ican disc epancies be ween he esul s
p o ided by SuSA and RMF app oaches. This is illus a ed in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, whe e he di e ences be ween he
SuSA and RMF p edic ions a e especially isible in he double di e en ial c oss sec ions (Figs. 1 and 2), which a e
be e desc ibed by he RMF model, and end ins ead o be washed ou by he in eg a ion (Fig. 3).
Summa izing, we ha e applied wo ela i is ic models, SuSA and RMF, bo h able o desc ibe wi h good accu acy he
longi udinal (e,e′)da a, o CCQE neu ino sca e ing, inding ha bo h unde es ima e he MiniBooNE c oss sec ions:
al hough he RMF does be e han SuSA in ep oducing he shape o he double di e en ial c oss sec ions, he wo
app oaches p o ide almos iden ical esul s o he single-di e en ial and o al c oss sec ions. Al hough ou scope
he e is no o ex ac a alue o he axial mass o he nucleon, bu a he o unde s and which nuclea e ec s a e
e ec i ely accoun ed o by a la ge axial cu o pa ame e , le us men ion ha a bes i o he RMF and SuSA esul s
o he MiniBooNE expe imen al c oss sec ion gi es an e ec i e axial mass Me
A≃1.5 GeV/c2and alues in he ange
1.35 <Me
A<1.65 GeV/c2yield esul s compa ible wi h he MiniBooNE da a wi hin he expe imen al e o s.
The inclusion o 2p2h MEC con ibu ions in he SuSA app oach inc eases bo h he di e en ial and he in eg a ed
c oss sec ions and hus seems o imp o e he ag eemen wi h he da a, sugges ing ha he da a can be explained
wi hou he need o a la ge nucleon axial mass. Howe e , in he p esen scheme, mo e e ined calcula ions aking ca e
o co ela ion cu en s and MEC e ec s in he axial- ec o channel should be pe o med be o e inal conclusions can
be d awn. We e e he eade o Re s. [3, 4, 5] o u he de ails and esul s.
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