From eV to EeV: Neutrino cross sections across energy scales
J. A. Formaggio
*
Laboratory for Nuclear Science Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge,
Massachusetts 02139, USA
G. P. Zeller
†
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Batavia, Illinois 60510, USA
(published 24 September 2012)
Since its original postulation by Wolfgang Pauli in 1930, the neutrino has played a prominent role in
our understanding of nuclear and particle physics. In the intervening 80 years, scientists have
detected and measured neutrinos from a variety of sources, both man made and natural. Underlying
all of these observations, and any inferences we may have made from them, is an understanding of
how neutrinos interact with matter. Knowledge of neutrino interaction cross sections is an important
and necessary ingredient in any neutrino measurement. With the advent of new precision experi-
ments, the demands on our understanding of neutrino interactions is becoming even greater. The
purpose of this article is to survey our current knowledge of neutrino cross sections across all known
energy scales: from the very lowest energies to the highest that we hope to observe. The article
covers a wide range of neutrino interactions including coherent scattering, neutrino capture, inverse
beta decay, low-energy nuclear interactions, quasielastic scattering, resonant pion production, kaon
production, deep inelastic scattering, and ultrahigh energy interactions. Strong emphasis is placed
on experimental data whenever such measurements are available.
DOI:
10.1103/RevModPhys.84.1307
PACS numbers: 25.30.Pt, 13.15.+g, 14.60.Lm
CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTION
1307
II. A simple case: Neutrino-lepton scattering
1308
A. Formalism: Kinematics
1308
B. Formalism: Matrix elements
1309
C. Experimental tests of electroweak theory
1311
D. Radiative corrections and
G
F
1312
III. Thresholdless processes:
E
#
±
0
–
1 MeV
1312
A. Coherent scattering
1312
B. Neutrino capture on radioactive nuclei
1313
IV. Low-energy nuclear processes:
E
#
±
1
–
100 MeV
1313
A. Inverse beta decay
1314
B. Beta decay and its role in cross section calibration
1314
C. Theoretical calculations of neutrino-deuterium
cross sections
1315
D. Other nuclear targets
1316
E. Estimating fermi and Gamow-Teller strengths
1317
F. Experimental tests of low-energy cross sections
on nuclei
1318
1. Hydrogen
1318
2. Deuterium
1320
3. Additional nuclear targets
1320
G. Transitioning to higher energy scales
1322
V. Intermediate energy cross sections:
E
#
±
0
:
1
–
20 GeV
1322
A. Quasielastic scattering
1324
B. NC elastic scattering
1326
C. Resonant single pion production
1327
D. Coherent pion production
1331
E. Multipion production
1331
F. Kaon production
1332
G. Outlook
1333
VI. High-energy cross sections:
E
#
±
20
–
500 GeV
1333
A. Deep inelastic scattering
1333
VII. Ultra-high-energy neutrinos: 0.5 TeV–1 EeV
1335
A. Uncertainties and projections
1336
VIII. Summary
1337
Acknowledgments
1337
References
1337
I. INTRODUCTION
The investigation into the basic properties of the particle
known as the neutrino has been a particularly strong and
active area of research within nuclear and particle physics.
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- Fall '13
- Particle Physics, Energy, Mass, neutrino cross sections
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