Final-State Interactions in the Superscaling Analysis of Neutral-Current Quasielastic Neutrino Scattering

TL;DR

This study examines how strong final-state interactions affect the superscaling behavior of neutral-current quasielastic neutrino cross sections across different nuclei and energies, providing insights into the conditions for reliable predictions.

Contribution

It demonstrates that superscaling remains valid despite strong final-state interactions if certain kinematic conditions are met, extending the applicability of the superscaling analysis.

Findings

Superscaling of the second kind is very robust.

First-kind scaling depends on kinematic conditions.

Superscaling can be used to predict neutrino scattering under specific conditions.

Abstract

Effects of strong final-state interactions in the superscaling properties of neutral-current quasielastic neutrino cross sections are investigated using the Relativistic Impulse Approximation as guidance. First- and second-kind scaling are analyzed for neutrino beam energies ranging from 1 to 2 GeV for the cases of 12C, 16O and 40Ca. Different detection angles of the outgoing nucleon are considered in order to sample various nucleon energy regimes. Scaling of the second kind is shown to be very robust. Validity of first-kind scaling is found to be linked to the kinematics of the process. Superscaling still prevails even in the presence of very strong final-state interactions, provided that some kinematical restrains are kept, and the conditions under which superscaling can be applied to predict neutral-current quasielastic neutrino scattering are determined.