NU 4 nu · NU 4 ν: nuclear ab initio methods for neutrino physics
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2022-09-01 → 2024-08-31
- EU contribution
- €162,806
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
NU 4 ν: nuclear ab initio methods for neutrino physics
The project “NU 4 ν: Nuclear Ab Initio Methods for Neutrino Physics” is driven by the requirements of next-generation neutrino oscillation experiments such as Hyper-Kamiokande (HyperK) and the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE). These experiments aim to achieve precise measurements of fundamental neutrino properties, with a particular focus on the charge-parity violating phase—a key to answering some of the most profound questions in particle physics. As these programs enter the Precision Frontier over the next decade, their success hinges on minimizing systematic errors, with the dominant uncertainty currently arising from the modeling of neutrino-nucleus interactions. This includes understanding the nuclear response of detectors across a broad spectrum of energies and nuclear targets, specifically medium-mass nuclei. The “NU 4 ν” initiative is advancing nuclear structure calculations using state-of-the-art ab initio nuclear theory, extending these methods to new applications and higher energy regions relevant to electroweak interactions in neutrino oscillation experiments. The project has focused on delivering the first ab initio theoretical calculations of electroweak cross-sections for medium-mass nuclei, with rigorous estimation of theoretical uncertainties—a critical factor for Precision Frontier searches. Furthermore, these results have been integrated into the Monte Carlo event generators employed by experimental collaborations, creating a direct bridge to experimental data analysis.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
We are entering an era of high-precision neutrino oscillation experiments (T2HK, DUNE), which potentially hold answers to some of the most exciting questions in particle physics. These future scientific discoveries require a precise knowledge of neutrino-nucleus interactions for a wide range of energies and nuclear targets, mainly medium-mass nuclei like oxygen and argon. Presently, this goal is far from being reached due to the simplistic nuclear models used in experimental analyses performed with the Monte Carlo (MC) event generators. In view of these needs, “NU 4 ν: nuclear ab initio methods for neutrino physics” gives an insight from more fundamental nuclear studies and delivers consistent theoretical predictions.“NU 4 ν” is an interdisciplinary endeavour which pushes nuclear structure calculations towards new applications and higher energy regions. We propose to employ the coupled cluster (CC) framework to deliver and benchmark a set of tools that will be implemented in the MC event generators. For the first time we want to employ a fundamental many-body theory to give results on various steps of simulation done within the MC generators. Not only we encapsulate the physics of the nuclear ground state through an established formalism of spectral functions, but we also account for the effects of nuclear correlations in the intra-nuclear cascade, an integral part of the MC generators, leading to an unprecedented theoretical consistency.The CC theory is perfectly suited to describe systems as large as oxygen and argon, pivotal for the neutrino experiments. Recently it has been combined with Lorentz integral transform (LIT-CC) method opening the door to calculate neutrino-nucleus cross-sections from first principles. The concurrent planned research of the host group using the LIT-CC method will give a unique chance to compare both approaches and perform an analysis of theoretical uncertainties.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- JOHANNES GUTENBERG-UNIVERSITAT MAINZ · MainzCoordinatorGermany
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union