Theoretical tools for neutrino scattering: interplay between lattice QCD, EFTs, nuclear physics, phenomenology, and neutrino event generators
Luis Alvarez-Ruso, Artur M. Ankowski, Sonia Bacca, A. B. Balantekin, J. Carlson, S. Gardiner, R. González-Jiménez, Rajan Gupta, T. J. Hobbs, Martin Hoferichter, Joshua Isaacson, N. Jachowicz, William I. Jay, T. Katori, Felix Kling, Andreas S. Kronfeld, Shirley Weishi Li, Huey-Wen Lin, Keh-Fei Liu, Alessandro Lovato, K Mahn, J. Menéndez, Aaron S. Meyer, J. G. Morfín, Saori Pastore, Noemi Rocco, M. Sajjad Athar, T. Sato, A. Schwenk, Phiala E. Shanahan, Louis E. Strigari, Michael L. Wagman, Xilin Zhang, Yong Zhao, V B Acharya, Lorenzo Andreoli, C Andreopoulos, J. Barrow, Tanmoy Bhattacharya, Vedran Brdar, C. Giusti, Y. Hayato, Amir N. Khan, Doojin Kim, Yufeng Li, Meifeng Lin, Pedro Machado, M. Martini, K. Niewczas, V. Pandey, A. Papadopoulou, Ryan Plestid, M. Roda, I. Ruiz Simó, James N. Simone, Raza Sabbir Sufian, Júlia Tena Vidal, Oleksandr Tomalak, Y-D Tsai, J. M. Udı́as
Abstract
Abstract Maximizing the discovery potential of increasingly precise neutrino experiments will require an improved theoretical understanding of neutrino-nucleus cross sections over a wide range of energies. Low-energy interactions are needed to reconstruct the energies of astrophysical neutrinos from supernovae bursts and search for new physics using increasingly precise measurement of coherent elastic neutrino scattering. Higher-energy interactions involve a variety of reaction mechanisms including quasi-elastic scattering, resonance production, and deep inelastic scattering that must all be included to reliably predict cross sections for energies relevant to DUNE and other accelerator neutrino experiments. Refined nuclear interaction models in these energy regimes will also be valuable for other applications, such as measurements of reactor, solar, and atmospheric neutrinos. This manuscript discusses the theoretical status, challenges, required resources, and path forward for achieving precise predictions of neutrino-nucleus scattering and emphasizes the need for a coordinated theoretical effort involved lattice QCD, nuclear effective theories, phenomenological models of the transition region, and event generators.