Nuclear effects in neutral current quasi-elastic neutrino interactions

TL;DR

This paper investigates nuclear effects in neutral current quasi-elastic neutrino interactions, highlighting discrepancies in theoretical models and data interpretation, and analyzing the role of strange quarks in these processes.

Contribution

The study challenges the use of a single axial mass parameter for both CCQE and NCE interactions and examines the impact of flux uncertainties and strange quark contributions.

Findings

CCQE and NCE cannot be described by the same axial mass $M_A$

Flux averaging uncertainties may cause theory-data discrepancies

Strange quark effects are negligible due to proton-neutron cancellation

Abstract

The interpretation of the charged (CCQE) and neutral (NCE) current quasi elastic events collected by the MiniBooNE collaboration involves a number of unresolved issues. While it has been suggested that the data can be explained in terms of an effective nucleon axial mass, $M_A$, the results of our theoretical calculations suggest that the CCQE and NCE samples cannot be described by the same value of $M_A$. We argue that the disagreement between theory and data may arise from the uncertainties associated with the flux average procedure. We also analyze the role of the strange quark in NCE interactions and find that, due to a cancellation between proton and neutron contributions, it turns out to be negligible.