arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to M. J. Vicente Vacas.
RPA correlations, spectral function and 2p2h (multi-nucleon) effects on charged-current neutrino-nucleus reactions without emitted pions are discussed. We pay attention to the influence of RPA and multi-nucleon mechanisms on the MiniBooNE and MINERvA flux folded differential cross sections, the MiniBooNE flux unfolded total cross section and the neutrino energy reconstruction.
The octet-baryon axial-vector charges and the g1/f1 ratios measured in the semileptonic hyperon decays are studied up to O(p^3) using the covariant baryon chiral perturbation theory with explicit decuplet contributions. We clarify the role of different low-energy constants and find a good convergence for the chiral expansion of the axial-vector charges of the baryon octet, g1(0), with O(p^3) corrections typically around 20% of the leading ones. This is a consequence of strong cancellations between different next-to-leading order terms. We show that considering only non-analytic terms is not enough and that analytic terms appearing at the same chiral order play an important role in this description. The same effects still hold for the chiral extrapolation of the axial-vector charges and result in a rather mild quark-mass dependence. As a result, we report a determination of the leading order chiral couplings, D=0.623(61)(17) and F=0.441(47)(2), as obtained from a completely consistent chiral analysis up to O(p^3). Furthermore, we note that the appearance of an unknown low-energy constant precludes the extraction of the proton octet-charge from semileptonic decay data alone, which is relevant for an analysis of the composition of the proton spin.
Fits of the p^4 covariant SU(2) baryon chiral perturbation theory to lattice QCD nucleon mass data from several collaborations for 2 and 2+1 flavors are presented. We consider contributions from explicit Delta(1232) degrees of freedom, finite volume and finite spacing corrections. We emphasize here our Nf=2+1 study. We obtain low-energy constants of natural size that are compatible with the rather linear pion-mass dependence of the nucleon mass observed in lattice QCD. We report a value for the pion-nucleon sigma term of 41(5)(4) MeV for the 2 flavor case and 52(3)(8) MeV for 2+1 flavors.
We extend to 10 GeV results from a microscopic calculation of charged-current neutrino-nucleus reactions that do not produce a pion in the final state. For the class of events coming from neutrino interactions with two nucleons producing two holes (2p2h), limiting the calculation to three-momentum transfers less than 1.2 GeV produces a two dimensional distribution in momentum and energy transfer that is roughly constant as a function of energy. The cross section for 2p2h interactions scales with the number of nucleons for isoscalar nuclei, similar to the quasi-elastic (QE) cross section. When limited to momentum transfers below 1.2 GeV, the cross section is 26% of the QE cross section at 3 GeV, but 14% if we neglect a Delta1232 resonance absorption component. The same quantities are 33% and 17% for anti-neutrinos. For the quasi-elastic interactions, the full nuclear model with long range correlations produces an even larger, but approximately constant distortion of the shape of the four-momentum transfer at all energies above 2 GeV. The 2p2h enhancement and long-range correlation distortions to the cross section for these interactions is significant enough they should be observable in precision experiments to measure neutrino oscillations and neutrino interactions at these energies, but also balance out and produce less total distortion than each effect does individually.
We investigate the pion-mass dependence of the nucleon mass within the covariant SU(2) baryon chiral perturbation theory up to order p4 with and without explicit Delta(1232) degrees of freedom. We fit lattice QCD data from several collaborations for 2 and 2+1 flavor ensembles. Here, we emphasize our Nf=2 study where the inclusion the Delta(1232) contributions stabilizes the fits. We correct for finite volume and spacing effects, set independently the lattice QCD scale by a Sommer-scale of r0 = 0.493(23) fm and also include one sigma pi-N lQCD data point near Mpi = 290 MeV. We obtain low-energy constants of natural size which are compatible with the rather linear pion-mass dependence observed in lattice QCD. We report a value of 41(5)(4) MeV for the sigma pi-N term in the 2 flavor case and 52(3)(8) MeV in the 2+1 flavors case.
We obatin the ratio $F_i^A/F_i^{D}$(i=2,3, A=Be, C, Fe, Pb; D=Deuteron) in the case of weak and electromagnetic nuclear structure functions. For this, relativistic nuclear spectral function which incorporate the effects of Fermi motion, binding and nucleon correlations is used. We also consider the pion and rho meson cloud contributions and shadowing and antishadowing effects.
We have studied nuclear medium effects in the weak structure functions $F^A_2(x)$ and $F^A_3(x)$ and in the extraction of weak mixing angle using Paschos Wolfenstein(PW) relation. We have modified the PW relation for nonisoscalar nuclear target. We have incorporated the medium effects like Pauli blocking, Fermi motion, nuclear binding energy, nucleon correlations, pion $\&$ rho cloud contributions, and shadowing and antishadowing effects.
We have studied strange particle production off nucleons through $ΔS =0 $ and $|ΔS| = 1$ channels, and specifically single kaon/antikaon, eta, associated particle production for neutrino/antineutrino induced processes as well as antineutrino induced single hyperon production processes. We have developed a microscopical model based on the SU(3) chiral Lagrangians. The basic parameters of the model are $f_π$, the pion decay constant, Cabibbo angle, the proton and neutron magnetic moments and the axial vector coupling constants for the baryons octet. For antikaon production we have also included $Σ^*(1385)$ resonance and for eta production $S_{11}(1535)$ and $S_{11}(1650)$ resonances are included.
We compare our pion production results with recent MiniBooNE data measured in mineral oil. Our total cross sections lie below experimental data for neutrino energies above 1 GeV. Differential cross sections show our model produces too few high energy pions in the forward direction as compared to data. The agreement with experiment improves by artificially removing pion final state interaction.
We study one pion production in both charged and neutral current neutrino nucleus scattering for neutrino energies below 2 GeV. We use a theoretical model for one pion production at the nucleon level that we correct for medium effects. The results are incorporated into a cascade program that apart from production also includes the pion final state interaction inside the nucleus. Besides, in some specific channels coherent pion production is also possible and we evaluate its contribution as well. Our results for total and differential cross sections are compared with recent data from the MiniBooNE Collaboration. The model provides an overall acceptable description of data, better for NC than for CC channels, although theory is systematically below data. Differential cross sections, folded with the full neutrino flux, show that most of the missing pions lie on the forward direction and at high energies.
We analyze the MiniBooNE muon neutrino CCQE-like dσ/dT_μ/dcosθ_μdata using a theoretical model that, among other nuclear effects, includes RPA correlations and 2p2h (multinucleon) mechanisms. These corrections turn out to be essential for the description of the data. We find that MiniBooNE CCQE-like data are fully compatible with former determinations of the nucleon axial mass M_A ~ 1.05 GeV. This is in sharp contrast with several previous analysis where anomalously large values of M_A ~ 1.4 GeV have been suggested. We also show that because of the the multinucleon mechanism effects, the algorithm used to reconstruct the neutrino energy is not adequate when dealing with quasielastic-like events. Finally, we analyze the MiniBooNE unfolded cross section, and show that it exhibits an excess (deficit) of low (high) energy neutrinos, which is an artifact of the unfolding process that ignores 2p2h mechanisms.
The strange particle production off the nucleon induced by neutrinos and antineutrinos is investigated at low and intermediate energies. We develop a microscopic model based on the SU(3) chiral Lagrangian. The studied mechanisms are the main source of single kaon production for (anti)neutrino energies up to 1.5 GeV. Using this model we have also studied the associated production of kaons and hyperons. The cross sections are large enough to be measured by experiments such as MINER$ν$A, T2K and NO$ν$A.
The weak $η$-meson production off the nucleon induced by (anti)neutrinos is studied at low and intermediate energies, the range of interest for several ongoing and future neutrino experiments. We consider Born diagrams and the excitation of $N^\ast (1535)S_{11}$ and $N^\ast(1650)S_{11}$ resonances. The vector part of the N-$S_{11}$ transition form factors has been obtained from the MAID helicity amplitudes while the poorly known axial part is constrained with the help of the partial conservation of the axial current (PCAC) and assuming the pion-pole dominance of the pseudoscalar form factor.
We evaluate the quasielastic and multinucleon contributions to the antineutrino nucleus scattering cross section and compare our results with the recent MiniBooNE data. We use a local Fermi gas model that includes RPA correlations and gets the multinucleon part from a systematic many body expansion of the $W$ boson selfenergy in the nuclear medium. The same model had been quite successful for the neutrino cross section and contains no new parameters. We have also analysed the relevance of 2p2h events for the antineutrino energy reconstruction.
We study single kaon production off the nucleon induced by electrons (positrons) i.e. $e^-(e^+) + N \rightarrow ν_e (\bar ν_e) + \bar K (K) + N^\prime$ at low energies. The possibility of observing these processes with the high luminosity beams available at TJNAF and Mainz is discussed, taking into account that the strangeness conserving electromagnetic reactions have a higher energy threshold for $\bar K (K)$ production. The calculations are done using a microscopic model that starts from the SU(3) chiral Lagrangians, includes background terms and the resonant mechanisms associated to the lowest lying resonance $Σ^*(1385)$.
We show that because of the multinucleon mechanism effects, the algorithm used to reconstruct the neutrino energy is not adequate when dealing with quasielastic-like events, and a distortion of the total flux unfolded cross section shape is produced. This amounts to a redistribution of strength from high to low energies, which gives rise to a sizable excess (deficit) of low (high) energy neutrinos. This distortion of the shape leads to a good description of the MiniBooNE unfolded CCQE-like cross sections published in Phys.Rev. D81 (2010) 092005. However, these changes in the shape are artifacts of the unfolding process that ignores multinucleon mechanisms.
With the aim of achieving a better and more complete understanding of neutrino interactions with nuclear targets, the coherent production of charged kaons induced by neutrinos and antineutrinos is investigated in the energy range of some of the current neutrino experiments. We follow a microscopic approach which, at the nucleon level, incorporates the most important mechanisms allowed by the chiral symmetry breaking pattern of QCD. The distortion of the outgoing (anti)kaon is taken into account by solving the Klein-Gordon equation with realistic optical potentials. Angular and momentum distributions are studied, as well as the energy and nuclear dependence of the total cross section.
The charged current antikaon production off nucleons induced by antineutrinos is studied at low and intermediate energies. We extend here our previous calculation on kaon production induced by neutrinos. We have developed a microscopic model that starts from the SU(3) chiral Lagrangians and includes background terms and the resonant mechanisms associated to the lowest lying resonance in the channel, namely, the Sigma*(1385). Our results could be of interest for the background estimation of various neutrino oscillation experiments like MiniBooNE and SuperK. They can also be helpful for the planned antineutrino experiments like MINERvA, NOvA and T2K phase II and for beta-beam experiments with antineutrino energies around 1 GeV.