Low energy analysis of nu N --> nu N gamma in the Standard Model

TL;DR

This paper analyzes low-energy neutrino-induced single photon production within the Standard Model, developing a chiral Lagrangian approach and exploring implications for neutrino experiments like MiniBooNE.

Contribution

It introduces a simple chiral Lagrangian model for neutrino-nucleon photon production at low energies and discusses its relevance to experimental backgrounds and anomalies.

Findings

Single photon production can explain MiniBooNE excess events.

Coherent enhancements in nuclei increase photon production rates.

The model provides a framework for low-energy neutrino scattering analysis.

Abstract

The production of single photons in low energy (~1 GeV) neutrino scattering off nucleons is analyzed in the Standard Model. At very low energies, E(nu) << 1 GeV, a simple description of the chiral lagrangian involving baryons and arbitrary SU(2)_L x U(1)_Y gauge fields is developed. Extrapolation of the process into the ~1-2 GeV region is treated in a simple phenomenological model. Coherent enhancements in compound nuclei are studied. The relevance of single photon events as a background to experimental searches for nu(mu) --> nu(e) is discussed. In particular, single photons are a plausible explanation for excess events observed by the MiniBooNE experiment.