Probing electron-argon scattering for liquid-argon based neutrino-oscillation program

TL;DR

This paper discusses an experiment at Jefferson Lab that collected electron scattering data on argon, crucial for improving nuclear models in neutrino detection using liquid argon detectors.

Contribution

It reports on the successful collection of electron-argon scattering data, addressing a significant gap for neutrino-oscillation experiments involving liquid argon detectors.

Findings

Collected electron scattering data on $^{40}$Ar, $^{48}$Ti, and $^{12}$C targets.

Provides empirical data to test and develop nuclear models for $^{40}$Ar.

Supports advancements in neutrino detection accuracy.

Abstract

The electron scattering has been a vital tool to study the properties of the target nucleus for over five decades. Though, the particular interest on $^{40}$Ar nucleus stemmed from the progress in the accelerator-based neutrino-oscillation experiments. The complexity of nuclei comprising the detectors and their weak response turned out to be one of the major hurdles in the quest of achieving unprecedented precision in these experiments. The challenges are further magnified by the use of Liquid Argon Time Projection Chambers (LArTPCs) in the short- (SBN) and long-baseline (DUNE) neutrino program, with almost non-existence electron-argon scattering data and hence with no empirical basis to test and develop nuclear models for $^{40}$Ar. In light of these challenges, an electron-argon experiment, E12-14-012, was proposed at Jefferson Lab. The experiment has recently successfully completed collecting data for $(e,e'p)$ and $(e,e')$ processes, not just on $^{40}$Ar but also on $^{48}$Ti, and $^{12}$C targets. While the analysis is running with full steam, in this contribution, we present a brief overview of the experiment.