Lepton-Nucleus Scattering Measurements for Neutrino Interactions and Oscillations

TL;DR

This paper advances the understanding of lepton-nucleus interactions crucial for neutrino oscillation experiments by analyzing neutrino and electron scattering data and improving the GENIE event generator.

Contribution

It provides new cross-section measurements and enhances the modeling of neutrino interactions, supporting high-precision neutrino oscillation research.

Findings

Neutrino cross sections from MicroBooNE data

Electron scattering data from CLAS detector

Improved GENIE event generator modeling

Abstract

Currently running and forthcoming precision neutrino oscillation experiments aim to unambiguously determine the neutrino mass ordering, the charge-parity violating phase in the lepton sector and the possible existence of physics Beyond the Standard Model. To have an understanding of all the effects necessary for the success of these experiments, lepton-nucleus interactions must be modeled in unprecedented detail. With this thesis, expertise in both neutrino and electron cross-section modeling and analysis was leveraged in order to make fundamental and critical improvements to our understanding of these interactions. The outlined work takes a significant step towards this high-precision measurement era with three complementary approaches. Cross sections are reported using neutrino data sets from the MicroBooNE liquid argon time projection chamber detector at Fermi National Laboratory, as well as electron scattering data from the CLAS detector at Thomas Jefferson National Laboratory. Furthermore, the modeling development of the commonly used GENIE event generator is presented.