Coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering on 40Ar from first principles

TL;DR

This paper uses advanced nuclear theory to calculate neutrino scattering on argon-40, providing predictions for nuclear structure that could improve understanding of nuclear models through experimental data.

Contribution

It introduces a first-principles calculation of neutrino-argon scattering using coupled-cluster theory, validated against electron scattering data, and predicts nuclear structure observables.

Findings

Charge form factor matches electron scattering data.

Predicted neutron skin thickness aligns with density functional theory.

Systematic uncertainties are estimated for the predictions.

Abstract

Coherent elastic neutrino scattering on the 40Ar nucleus is computed with coupled-cluster theory based on nuclear Hamiltonians inspired by effective field theories of quantum chromodynamics. Our approach is validated by calculating the charge form factor and comparing it to data from electron scattering. We make predictions for the weak form factor, the neutron radius, and the neutron skin, and estimate systematic uncertainties. The neutron-skin thickness of 40Ar40 is consistent with results from density functional theory. Precision measurements from coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering could potentially be used to extract these observables and help to constrain nuclear models.