Phys. Rev. X 10, 031068 (2020) – Ab Initio Study of $({\ensuremath{\nu}}_{\ensuremath{\ell}},{\ensuremath{\ell}}^{\ensuremath{-}})$ and $({\overline{\ensuremath{\nu}}}_{\ensuremath{\ell}},{\ensuremath

We carry out an ab initio calculation of the neutrino flux-folded inclusive cross sections measured on C12 by the MiniBooNE and T2K Collaborations in the charged-current quasielastic regime. The calculation is based on realistic two- and three-nucleon interactions, and on a realistic nuclear electroweak current with one- and two-nucleon terms that are constructed consistently with these interactions and reproduce low-energy electroweak transitions. Numerically exact quantum Monte Carlo methods are utilized to compute the nuclear weak response functions, by fully retaining many-body correlations in the initial and final states and interference effects between one- and two-body current contributions. We employ a nucleon axial form factor of the dipole form with ΛA=1.0 or 1.15 GeV, the latter more in line with a very recent lattice QCD determination. The calculated cross sections are found to be in good agreement with the neutrino data of MiniBooNE and T2K, and antineutrino MiniBooNE data, yielding a consistent picture of nuclei and their electroweak properties across a wide regime of energy and momenta.

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevX.10.031068

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Published by the American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Nuclear Physics

Particles & Fields