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1. Nucleon binding energy and transverse momentum imbalance in neutrino-nucleus reactions

   T. Cai (May 2020, Physical review)

   We have measured new observables based on the final state kinematic imbalances in the mesonless production of νμ+A→μ-+p+X in the MINERνA tracker. Components of the muon-proton momentum imbalances parallel (δpTy) and perpendicular (δpTx) to the momentum transfer in the transverse plane are found to be sensitive to the nuclear effects such as Fermi motion, binding energy, and non-quasielastic (QE) contributions. The QE peak location in δpTy is particularly sensitive to the binding energy. Differential cross sections are compared to predictions from different neutrino interaction models. The Fermi gas models presented in this study cannot simultaneously describe features such as QE peak location, width, and the non-QE events contributing to the signal process. Correcting the genie’s binding energy implementation according to theory causes better agreement with data. Hints of proton left-right asymmetry are observed in δpTx. Better modeling of the binding energy can reduce the bias in neutrino energy reconstruction, and these observables can be applied in current and future experiments to better constrain nuclear effects. 

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2. Nucleon binding energy and transverse momentum imbalance in neutrino-nucleus reactions

   T. Cai, et al. (April 2020, Physical review)

   We have measured new observables based on the final state kinematic imbalances in the mesonless production of ν μ + A → μ − + p + X in the MINERνA tracker. Components of the muon-proton momentum imbalances parallel ( δ p Ty ) and perpendicular ( δ p Tx ) to the momentum transfer in the transverse plane are found to be sensitive to the nuclear effects such as Fermi motion, binding energy, and non-quasielastic (QE) contributions. The QE peak location in δ p Ty is particularly sensitive to the binding energy. Differential cross sections are compared to predictions from different neutrino interaction models. The Fermi gas models presented in this study cannot simultaneously describe features such as QE peak location, width, and the non-QE events contributing to the signal process. Correcting the genie’s binding energy implementation according to theory causes better agreement with data. Hints of proton left-right asymmetry are observed in δpTx. Better modeling of the binding energy can reduce the bias in neutrino energy reconstruction, and these observables can be applied in current and future experiments to better constrain nuclear effects. 

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3. Nucleon binding energy and transverse momentum imbalance in neutrino-nucleus reactions

   https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.101.092001  

   Cai, T.; Lu, X.-G. (May 2020, Physical review)

   null (Ed.)

   We have measured new observables based on the final state kinematic imbalances in the mesonless production of ν μ + A → μ − + p + X in the MINERνA tracker. Components of the muon-proton momentum imbalances parallel ( δ p Ty ) and perpendicular ( δ p Tx ) to the momentum transfer in the transverse plane are found to be sensitive to the nuclear effects such as Fermi motion, binding energy, and non-quasielastic (QE) contributions. The QE peak location in δ p Ty is particularly sensitive to the binding energy. Differential cross sections are compared to predictions from different neutrino interaction models. The Fermi gas models presented in this study cannot simultaneously describe features such as QE peak location, width, and the non-QE events contributing to the signal process. Correcting the genie’s binding energy implementation according to theory causes better agreement with data. Hints of proton left-right asymmetry are observed in δ p Tx . Better modeling of the binding energy can reduce the bias in neutrino energy reconstruction, and these observables can be applied in current and future experiments to better constrain nuclear effects. 

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4. Measurement of final-state correlations in neutrino muon-proton mesonless production on hydrocarbon at $$langle E_nurangle=3$$ GeV

   Lu, X. G. (July 2019, Physical review letters)

   Final-state kinematic imbalances are measured in mesonless production of νμ+A→μ−+p+X in the MINERvA tracker. Initial- and final-state nuclear effects are probed using the direction of the μ−−p transverse momentum imbalance and the initial-state momentum of the struck neutron. Differential cross sections are compared to predictions based on current approaches to medium modeling. These models underpredict the cross section at intermediate intranuclear momentum transfers that generally exceed the Fermi momenta. As neutrino interaction models need to correctly incorporate the effect of the nucleus in order to predict neutrino energy resolution in oscillation experiments, this result points to a region of phase space where additional cross section strength is needed in current models, and demonstrates a new technique that would be suitable for use in fine-grained liquid argon detectors where the effect of the nucleus may be even larger. 

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5. High-statistics measurement of antineutrino quasielasticlike scattering at $E_{\overline{\nu }}$ 6 GeV on a hydrocarbon target

   https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.108.032018  

   Bashyal, A; Akhter, S; Ahmad_Dar, Z; Akbar, F; Ansari, V; Ascencio, M V; Sajjad_Athar, M; Bercellie, A; Betancourt, M; Bodek, A; et al (August 2023, Physical Review D)

   We present measurements of the cross section for antineutrino charged-current quasielasticlike scattering on hydrocarbon using the medium energy NuMI wide-band neutrino beam peaking at antineutrino energy hE¯νi ∼ 6 GeV. The measurements are presented as a function of the longitudinal momentum (pjj) and transverse momentum (pT) of the final state muon. This work complements our previously reported high statistics measurement in the neutrino channel and extends the previous antineutrino measurement made in a low energy beam at hE¯νi ∼ 3.5 GeV out to pT of 2.5 GeV=c. Current theoretical models do not completely describe the data in this previously unexplored high pT region. The single differential cross section as a function of four-momentum transfer (Q2 QE) now extends to 4 GeV2 with high statistics. The cross section as a function of Q2 QE shows that the tuned simulations developed by the MINERvA Collaboration that agreed well with the low energy beam measurements do not agree as well with the medium energy beam measurements. Newer neutrino interaction models such as the GENIE v3 tunes are better able to simulate the high Q2 QE region. 

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