Natalie Jachowicz (Ghent U.)

Modeling QE neutrino-nucleus scattering in MiniBooNe and T2K

(Seminar via Skype) Neutrino-oscillation experiments rely on neutrino-nucleus scattering to detect the neutrinos carrying the oscillation signal. A precise understanding of the mechanisms underlying the interaction of the neutrino with an atomic nucleus is mandatory to disentangle the oscillation pattern. This quest for the precise determination of oscillation parameters is complicated by the fact that monochromatic neutrino beams are not available, and neutrinos are produced with a broad energy distribution. The signal in a detector is hence the superposition of different reaction mechanisms : quasi-elastic, multi-nucleon emission, pion-production etc., which all need to be understood. Here, we focus on single-nucleon knockout processes and present continuum random phase approximation (CRPA) results for charged-current quasielastic (CCQE) neutrino-nucleus scattering at kinematics relevant for the MiniBooNe and T2K experiments. We pay special emphasis to low-energy nuclear excitations that are well described by the CRPA formalism and provide a non-negligible contribution to reaction cross sections for low incoming energies or forward scattering.