Relativistic descriptions of final-state interactions in neutral-current neutrino-nucleus scattering at MiniBooNE kinematics

TL;DR

This paper evaluates relativistic models for neutral-current neutrino-nucleus scattering at MiniBooNE energies, focusing on final state interactions and the strange-quark content's impact on cross sections.

Contribution

It compares relativistic distorted-wave and Green's function models to assess the influence of final state interactions in neutrino scattering.

Findings

Final state interactions significantly affect cross section predictions.

Strange-quark contributions alter the differential cross sections.

Models show sensitivity to the nucleon form factors.

Abstract

The analysis of the recent neutral-current neutrino-nucleus scattering cross sections measured by the MiniBooNE Collaboration requires relativistic theoretical descriptions also accounting for the role of final state interactions. In this work we evaluate differential cross sections with the relativistic distorted-wave impulse-approximation and with the relativistic Green's function model to investigate the sensitivity to final state interactions. The role of the strange-quark content of the nucleon form factors is also discussed.