Single pion production in neutrino nucleus scattering

TL;DR

This paper models single pion production in neutrino-nucleus scattering below 2 GeV, incorporating medium effects, final state interactions, and coherent production, and compares results with MiniBooNE data.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive theoretical model that includes medium corrections, pion final state interactions, and coherent production for neutrino-induced pion production.

Findings

Model agrees acceptably with experimental data, especially for NC channels.

Most missing pions are forward-going and at high energies.

Systematic underestimation of data by the model.

Abstract

We study one pion production in both charged and neutral current neutrino nucleus scattering for neutrino energies below 2 GeV. We use a theoretical model for one pion production at the nucleon level that we correct for medium effects. The results are incorporated into a cascade program that apart from production also includes the pion final state interaction inside the nucleus. Besides, in some specific channels coherent pion production is also possible and we evaluate its contribution as well. Our results for total and differential cross sections are compared with recent data from the MiniBooNE Collaboration. The model provides an overall acceptable description of data, better for NC than for CC channels, although theory is systematically below data. Differential cross sections, folded with the full neutrino flux, show that most of the missing pions lie on the forward direction and at high energies.