Semi-inclusive charged-current neutrino-nucleus reactions

TL;DR

This paper develops a comprehensive formalism for semi-inclusive charged-current neutrino-nucleus reactions, applicable to various hadronic systems, with explicit expressions for response functions and cross sections considering finite particle masses.

Contribution

It introduces a universal formalism for semi-inclusive neutrino-nucleus reactions, including detailed tensor expressions and symmetry considerations, extending previous models to more general cases.

Findings

Explicit formulas for leptonic and hadronic tensors

General symmetry principles for hadronic responses

Cross section expressions with finite mass effects

Abstract

The general, universal formalism for semi-inclusive charged-current (anti)neutrino-nucleus reactions is given for studies of any hadronic system, namely, either nuclei or the nucleon itself. The detailed developments are presented with the former in mind and are further specialized to cases where the final-state charged lepton and an ejected nucleon are presumed to be detected. General kinematics for such processes are summarized and then explicit expressions are developed for the leptonic and hadronic tensors involved and for the corresponding responses according to the usual charge, longitudinal and transverse projections, keeping finite the masses of all particles involved. In the case of the hadronic responses, general symmetry principles are invoked to determine which contributions can occur. Finally, the general leptonic-hadronic tensor contraction is given as well as the cross section for the process.