Neutrino-Deuteron Reactions at Solar Neutrino Energies in Pionless Effective Field Theory with Dibaryon Fields

TL;DR

This paper calculates neutrino-deuteron reaction cross sections at solar neutrino energies using pionless effective field theory with dibaryon fields, including Coulomb effects and higher-order corrections, providing precise theoretical predictions.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed calculation of neutrino-deuteron reactions at low energies using an advanced EFT approach with dibaryon fields, including Coulomb interactions and next-to-leading order corrections.

Findings

Next-to-leading order contributes 5.2-9.9% to the cross section.

P-wave contributions account for 2.4-2.8% at 20 MeV.

Uncertainty from axial low-energy constants is about 1%.

Abstract

We study breakup of the deuteron induced by neutrinos in the neutral $\nu d\to \nu np$, $\bar{\nu} d\to \bar{\nu} np$ and the charged $\bar{\nu} d\to e^+ n n$, $\nu d\to e^- pp$ processes. Pionless effective field theory with dibaryon fields is used to calculate the total cross sections for neutrino energies $E_\nu$ from threshold to 20 MeV. Amplitudes are expanded up to next-to-leading order, and the partial wave is truncated at $P$-waves. The Coulomb interaction between two protons is included nonperturbatively in the reaction amplitudes, and an analytic expression of the amplitudes is obtained. The contribution of the next-to-leading order to the total cross section is in the range of 5.2$-$9.9\% in magnitude, and that of the $P$-wave is 2.4$-$2.8\% at $E_\nu = 20$ MeV. Uncertainty arising from an axial isovector low-energy constant is estimated to be on the order of 1\%.