Extracting nuclear form factors with coherent neutrino scattering

TL;DR

This paper proposes using coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CEvNS) at upcoming accelerator facilities to precisely measure nuclear form factors, especially neutron distributions, with minimal interference from strong interactions.

Contribution

It introduces a method for high-precision measurement of nuclear form factors using CEvNS, detailing detector requirements and background mitigation strategies.

Findings

Potential for percent-level precision in neutron radius measurements

Identification of dominant backgrounds from cosmogenic neutrons

Capability to resolve higher-order moments of nuclear form factors

Abstract

Coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CEvNS) can be used to determine the neutron part of nuclear form factors, unlocking intrinsic properties of nuclear structure. In contrast with other such methods, CEvNS is free from both strong interaction effects and Coulomb distortions. We propose precision measurements of CEvNS with an upcoming accelerator facility and determine the corresponding requirements for such a neutrino detector. We find that most significant backgrounds come from fast neutrons, induced by cosmogenic muons or from the pion decays at rest in the target station. With ton-scale liquid noble gas detectors, we will not only achieve percent level precision in the measurement of neutron radii but also clarify contributions of higher-order moments to nuclear form factors.