Coherent pion production in neutrino (anti-neutrino)-nucleus interaction

TL;DR

This paper develops a Glauber model-based approach to calculate coherent pion production cross sections in neutrino-nucleus interactions, showing excellent agreement with experimental data across various energies and targets.

Contribution

It introduces a Glauber model framework for coherent pion production that accurately matches experimental data and extends predictions for future neutrino experiments.

Findings

Glauber model calculations agree well with experimental data across energy ranges.

The approach accurately describes both charge and neutral current coherent pion production.

Predictions for upcoming experiments like INO and DUNE are provided.

Abstract

We present a study of coherent pion production in neutrino-nucleus interactions using the formalism based on partially conserved axial current theorem which connects the neutrino-nucleus cross section to the pion-nucleus elastic scattering cross section. Pion-nucleus elastic scattering cross section is calculated using Glauber model which takes three inputs, nuclear densities, pion-nucleon cross section and $\alpha_{\pi N}$ which is the ratio of real to imaginary part of $\pi N$ forward scattering amplitude, for which the parametrizations are obtained from measured data. We calculate the differential and integrated cross sections for charge and neutral current coherent pion production in neutrino (anti-neutrino)-nucleus scattering for a range of nuclear targets from light to heavy materials such as lithium, carbon, hydrocarbon, oxygen, silicon, argon, iron and lead. The results of these cross section calculations are compared with the measured data and with the calculations from the Berger-Sehgal model and GENIE package. There is an excellent agreement between the calculated and measured cross sections with Glauber model. While GENIE and Berger-Sehgal model give a good description of the data in the lower energy range the present calculations describe the data in all energy ranges. Predictions are also made for upcoming experiments like INO and DUNE in the coherent region of neutrino cross section.