A tolerable candle: the low-$\nu$ method with LHC neutrinos

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that the low-$ u$ method can effectively constrain the $ u_{}$ neutrino flux shape at the LHC's Forward Physics Facility, enabling precise measurements and reducing model dependence in neutrino physics.

Contribution

It introduces and validates the low-$ u$ method for flux shape determination at the FPF, providing a model-independent approach for $ u_{}$ flux extraction.

Findings

The low-$ u$ method effectively constrains the $ u_{}$ flux shape.

The method's application to $ar{ u}_{}$ flux is more model dependent.

Predicted flux shape precision can discriminate between different flux models.

Abstract

The Forward Physics Facility (FPF) plans to use neutrinos produced at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) to make a variety of measurements at previously unexplored TeV energies. Its primary goals include precision measurements of the neutrino cross section and using the measured neutrino flux both to uncover information about far-forward hadron production and to search for various beyond standard model scenarios. However, these goals have the potential to conflict: extracting information about the flux or cross section relies upon an assumption about the other. In this manuscript, we demonstrate that the FPF can use the low-$\nu$ method -- a technique for constraining the flux shape by isolating neutrino interactions with low energy transfer to the nucleus -- to break this degeneracy. We show that the low-$\nu$ method is effective for extracting the $\nu_{\mu}$ flux shape, in a model-independent way. We discuss its application for extracting the $\bar{\nu}_{\mu}$ flux shape, but find that this is significantly more model dependent. Finally, we explore the precision to which the $\nu_{\mu}$ flux shape could be constrained at the FPF, for a variety of proposed detector options. We find that the precision would be sufficient to discriminate between various realistic flux models.