Neutrino Scattering Uncertainties and their Role in Long Baseline Oscillation Experiments

TL;DR

This paper discusses how uncertainties in neutrino scattering cross sections impact long baseline oscillation experiments and how dedicated measurements can reduce these systematic errors.

Contribution

It highlights the importance of precise neutrino interaction measurements and proposes that experiments like MINERvA can significantly lower systematic uncertainties.

Findings

Systematic errors from neutrino interactions can rival statistical uncertainties.

Dedicated scattering experiments can reduce cross section uncertainties.

Improved measurements will enhance the precision of oscillation parameter determination.

Abstract

The field of oscillation physics is about to make an enormous leap forward in statistical precision: first through the MINOS experiment in the coming year, and later through the NOvA and T2K experiments. Because of the relatively poor understanding of neutrino interactions in the energy ranges of these experiments, there are systematics that can arise in interpreting far detector data that can be as large as or even larger than the expected statistical uncertainties. We describe how these systematic errors arise, and how specific measurements in a dedicated neutrino scattering experiment like MINERvA can reduce the cross section systematic errors to well below the statistical errors.