Journal article

Publication year: 2015

Journal: Physical Review C

Volume number: 91

Issue number: 6

ISSN: 0556-2813

eISSN: 1089-490X

Open access status: Green

DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.91.065501

Publisher: American Physical Society

Abstract: 

Background: A quantitative understanding of neutrino interactions with nuclei is needed for precision era neutrino long baseline experiments (MINOS, NOvA, DUNE) which all use nuclear targets. Pion production is the dominant reaction channel at the energies of these experiments.

Purpose: Investigate the influence of nuclear effects on neutrino-induced pion production cross compare predictions for pion-production with available data.

Method: The Giessen Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck (GiBUU) model is used for the description of all incoherent channels in neutrino-nucleus reactions.

Results: Differential cross sections for charged and neutral pion production for the MINER nu A neutrino and antineutrino flux are calculated. An estimate for the coherent cross section is obtained from a comparison of data with theoretical results for incoherent cross sections. The invariant mass (W) distribution of the Delta resonances produced is analyzed.

Conclusions: Final state interactions affect the pion kinetic energy spectra significantly. The data for charged pion production at MINER nu A are compatible with the results of calculations using elementary data taken from an old Argonne National Laboratory experiment. Remaining differences for charged pion production can be attributed to coherent production; the data for antineutrino induced neutral pion production, where no coherent contribution is present, are reproduced quite well. The analysis of W distributions shows that sharp cuts on experimentally reconstructed invariant masses lead to shape distortions of the true W distributions for nuclear targets.

Harvard Citation style: Mosel, U. (2015) Pion production in high-energy neutrino reactions with nuclei, Physical Review C, 91(6), Article 065501. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.91.065501

APA Citation style: Mosel, U. (2015). Pion production in high-energy neutrino reactions with nuclei. Physical Review C. 91(6), Article 065501. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.91.065501