Abstract
The interpretation of present and future neutrino experiments requires accurate theoretical predictions for neutrino-nucleus scattering rates. Neutrino structure functions can be reliably evaluated in the deep-inelastic scattering regime within the perturbative QCD (pQCD) framework. At low momentum transfers (Q2 ≲ few GeV2), inelastic structure functions are however affected by large uncertainties which distort event rate predictions for neutrino energies Eν up to the TeV scale. Here we present a determination of neutrino inelastic structure functions valid for the complete range of energies relevant for phenomenology, from the GeV region entering oscillation analyses to the multi-EeV region accessible at neutrino telescopes. Our NNSFν approach combines a machine-learning parametrisation of experimental data with pQCD calculations based on state-of-the-art analyses of proton and nuclear parton distributions (PDFs). We compare our determination to other calculations, in particular to the popular Bodek-Yang model. We provide updated predictions for inclusive cross sections for a range of energies and target nuclei, including those relevant for LHC far-forward neutrino experiments such as FASERν, SND@LHC, and the Forward Physics Facility. The NNSFν determination is made available as fast interpolation LHAPDF grids, and it can be accessed both through an independent driver code and directly interfaced to neutrino event generators such as GENIE.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Jonathan Feng, Felix Klein, Hallsie Reno, and Dennis Soldin for productive discussions concerning neutrino scattering in the context of the Forward Physics Facility working group. We are grateful to Nusch Mortazavi for collaborations in an early stage of the project. A. C. and partially R. S. are supported by the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation Programme (grant agreement n.740006). R. S. is partially supported by the U.K. Science and Technology Facility Council (STFC) grant ST/P000630/1. J. R. and G. M. are partially supported by NWO (Dutch Research Council). J. R. and T. R. are supported by an ASDI (Accelerating Scientific Discoveries) grant from the Netherlands eScience Center. A. G. acknowledges support from the European Union’s H2020-MSCA Grant Agreement No.101025085 and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of Harvard University.
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Candido, A., Garcia, A., Magni, G. et al. Neutrino structure functions from GeV to EeV energies. J. High Energ. Phys. 2023, 149 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP05(2023)149
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP05(2023)149