Wang, E., Alvarez-Ruso, L., & Nieves, J. (2014). Photon emission in neutral-current interactions at intermediate energies. Phys. Rev. C, 89(1), 015503–21pp.
Abstract: Neutral-current photon emission reactions with nucleons and nuclei are studied. These processes are important backgrounds for nu(mu) -> nu(e) ((nu) over bar (mu) -> (nu) over bar (e)) appearance oscillation experiments where electromagnetic showers instigated by electrons (positrons) and photons are not distinguishable. At intermediate energies, these reactions are dominated by the weak excitation of the Delta(1232) resonance and its subsequent decay into N gamma. There are also nonresonant contributions that, close to threshold, are fully determined by the effective chiral Lagrangian of strong interactions. In addition, we have also included mechanisms mediated by nucleon excitations (N*) from the second resonance region above the Delta(1232). From these states, the contribution of the D-13 N*(1520) turns out to be sizable for (anti) neutrino energies above 1.5 GeV. We have extended the model to nuclear targets taking into account Pauli blocking, Fermi motion, and the in-medium Delta resonance broadening. We present our predictions for both the incoherent and coherent channels, showing the relevance of the nuclear corrections. We also discuss the target mass dependence of the cross sections. This study is important to reduce systematic effects in neutrino oscillation experiments.
|
Wang, E., Alvarez-Ruso, L., & Nieves, J. (2015). Single photon events from neutral current interactions at MiniBooNE. Phys. Lett. B, 740, 16–22.
Abstract: The MiniBooNE experiment has reported results from the analysis of v(e) and (v) over bar (e) appearance searches, which show an excess of signal-like events at low reconstructed neutrino energies, with respect to the expected background. A significant component of this background comes from photon emission induced by (anti) neutrino neutral current interactions with nucleons and nuclei. With an improved microscopic model for these reactions, we predict the number and distributions of photon events at the MiniBooNE detector. Our results are compared to the MiniBooNE in situ estimate and to other theoretical approaches. We find that, according to our model, neutral current photon emission from single-nucleon currents is insufficient to explain the events excess observed by MiniBooNE in both neutrino and antineutrino modes.
|
Alvarez-Ruso, L., Hernandez, E., Nieves, J., & Vicente Vacas, M. J. (2016). Watson's theorem and the N Delta(1232) axial transition. Phys. Rev. D, 93(1), 014016–16pp.
Abstract: We present a new determination of the N Delta axial form factors from neutrino induced pion production data. For this purpose, the model of Hernandez et al. [Phys. Rev. D 76, 033005 (2007)] is improved by partially restoring unitarity. This is accomplished by imposing Watson's theorem on the dominant vector and axial multipoles. As a consequence, a larger C-5(A) (0), in good agreement with the prediction from the off-diagonal Goldberger-Treiman relation, is now obtained.
|
Yao, D. L., Alvarez-Ruso, L., & Vicente Vacas, M. J. (2017). Extraction of nucleon axial charge and radius from lattice QCD results using baryon chiral perturbation theory. Phys. Rev. D, 96(11), 116022–11pp.
Abstract: We calculate the nucleon axial form factor up to the leading one-loop order in a covariant chiral effective field theory with the Delta(1232) resonance as an explicit degree of freedom. We fit the axial form factor to the latest lattice QCD data and pin down the relevant low-energy constants. The lattice QCD data, for various pion masses below 400 MeV, can be well described up to a momentum transfer of similar to 0.6 GeV. The Delta(1232) loops contribute significantly to this agreement. Furthermore, we extract the axial charge and radius based on the fitted values of the low-energy constants. The results are g(A) = 1.237(74) and < r(A)(2)> = 0.263(38) fm(2). The obtained coupling g(A) is consistent with the experimental value if the uncertainty is taken into account. The axial radius is below but in agreement with the recent extraction from neutrino quasielastic scattering data on deuterium, which has large error bars. Up to our current working accuracy, r(A) is predicted only at leading order, i.e., the one-loop level. A more precise determination might need terms of O(p(5)).
|
Alvarez-Ruso, L., & Saul-Sala, E. (2021). Neutrino interactions with matter and the MiniBooNE anomaly. Eur. Phys. J.-Spec. Top., 230, 4373–4389.
Abstract: The excess of electron-like events measured by MiniBooNE challenges our understanding of neutrinos and their interactions. We review the status of this open problem and ongoing efforts to resolve it. After introducing the experiment and its results, we consider the main experimental backgrounds and the related physics of neutrino interactions with matter, such as quasielastic-like scattering and weak pion production on nucleons and nuclei. Special attention is paid to single photon emission in neutral current interactions and, in particular, its coherent channel. The difficulties to reconcile the MiniBooNE anomaly with global oscillation analysis is then highlighted. We finally outline some of the proposed solutions of the puzzle involving unconventional neutrino-interaction mechanisms.
|
Alvarado, F., & Alvarez-Ruso, L. (2022). Light-quark mass dependence of the nucleon axial charge and pion-nucleon scattering phenomenology. Phys. Rev. D, 105(7), 074001–13pp.
Abstract: The light-quark mass dependence of the nucleon axial isovector charge (gA) has been studied up to nextto-next-to-leading order, O(p4), in relativistic chiral perturbation theory using extended-on-mass-shell renormalization, without and with explicit Delta(1232) degrees of freedom. We show that in the Delta-less case, at this order, the flat trend of gA(MN) exhibited by state-of-the-art lattice QCD (LQCD) results cannot be reproduced using low energy constants extracted from pion-nucleon elastic and inelastic scattering. A satisfactory description of these LQCD data is only achieved in the theory with Delta. From this fit, we report gA(MN(phys)) = 1.260 1 0.012, close to the experimental result, and d16 = -0.88 1 0.88 GeV-2, in agreement with its empirical value. The large uncertainties are of theoretical origin, reflecting the difference between O(p3) and O(p4) that still persists at large MN in presence of the Delta.
|
Alarcon, J. M., Martin Camalich, J., Oller, J. A., & Alvarez-Ruso, L. (2011). pi N scattering in relativistic baryon chiral perturbation theory reexamined. Phys. Rev. C, 83(5), 055205–14pp.
Abstract: We have analyzed pion-nucleon scattering using the manifestly relativistic covariant framework of infrared regularization up to O(q(3)) in the chiral expansion, where q is a generic small momentum. We describe the low-energy phase shifts with a similar quality as previously achieved with heavy baryon chiral perturbation theory, root s less than or similar to 1.14 GeV. New values are provided for the O(q(2)) and O(q(3)) low-energy constants, which are compared with previous determinations. This is also the case for the scattering lengths and volumes. Finally, we have unitarized the previous amplitudes and as a result the energy range where data are reproduced increases significantly.
|
Alvarez-Ruso, L., Nieves, J., Ruiz Simo, I., Valverde, M., & Vicente Vacas, M. J. (2013). Charged kaon production by coherent scattering of neutrinos and antineutrinos on nuclei. Phys. Rev. C, 87(1), 015503–11pp.
Abstract: With the aim of achieving a better and more complete understanding of neutrino interactions with nuclear targets, the coherent production of charged kaons induced by neutrinos and antineutrinos is investigated in the energy range of some of the current neutrino experiments. We follow a microscopic approach which, at the nucleon level, incorporates the most important mechanisms allowed by the chiral-symmetry-breaking pattern of QCD. The distortion of the outgoing K ((K) over bar) is taken into account by solving the Klein-Gordon equation with realistic optical potentials. Angular and momentum distributions, as well as the energy and nuclear dependence of the total cross section, are studied.
|
Alvarez-Ruso, L., Ledwig, T., Martin Camalich, J., & Vicente Vacas, M. J. (2013). Nucleon mass and pion-nucleon sigma term from a chiral analysis of lattice QCD data. Phys. Rev. D, 88(5), 054507–20pp.
Abstract: The pion mass dependence of the nucleon mass within the covariant SU(2) baryon chiral perturbation theory both without and with explicit Delta(1232) degrees of freedom up to order p(4) is investigated. By fitting to a comprehensive set of lattice QCD data in 2 and 2 + 1 flavors from several collaborations, for pion masses M-pi < 420 MeV, we obtain low energy constants of natural size that are compatible with pion-nucleon scattering data. Our results are consistent with the rather linear pion mass dependence showed by lattice QCD. In the 2 flavor case we have also performed simultaneous fits to nucleon mass and sigma(pi N) data. As a result of our analysis, which encompasses the study of finite volume corrections and discretization effects, we report a value of sigma(pi N) = 41(5)(4) MeV in the 2 flavor case and sigma(pi N) = 52(3)(8) MeV for 2 + 1 flavors, where the inclusion of the Delta(1232) resonance changes the results by around 9 MeV. In the 2 flavor case we are able to set independently the scale for lattice QCD data, given by a Sommer scale of r(0) = 0.493(23) fm.
|
Alvarez-Ruso, L., Hayato, Y., & Nieves, J. (2014). Progress and open questions in the physics of neutrino cross sections at intermediate energies. New J. Phys., 16, 075015–62pp.
Abstract: New and more precise measurements of neutrino cross sections have renewed interest in a better understanding of electroweak interactions on nucleons and nuclei. This effort is crucial to achieving the precision goals of the neutrino oscillation program, making new discoveries, like the CP violation in the leptonic sector, possible. We review the recent progress in the physics of neutrino cross sections, putting emphasis on the open questions that arise in the comparison with new experimental data. Following an overview of recent neutrino experiments and future plans, we present some details about the theoretical development in the description of (anti) neutrino-induced quasielastic (QE) scattering and the role of multi-nucleon QE-like mechanisms. We cover not only pion production in nucleons and nuclei but also other inelastic channels including strangeness production and photon emission. Coherent reaction channels on nuclear targets are also discussed. Finally, we briefly describe some of the Monte Carlo event generators, which are at the core of all neutrino oscillation and cross-section measurements.
|
