Neutrino-nucleus cross sections for W -boson and trident production

Abstract

The physics of neutrino-nucleus cross sections is a critical probe of the Standard Model and beyond. A precise understanding is also needed to accurately deduce astrophysical neutrino spectra. At energies above ∼ 5 GeV, the cross section is dominated by deep inelastic scattering, mediated by weak bosons. In addition, there are subdominant processes where the hadronic coupling is through virtual photons, γ * : (on-shell) W -boson production (e.g., where the underlying interaction is ν +γ * → − +W + ) and trident production (e.g., where it is ν +γ * → ν + − 1 + + 2 ). These processes become increasingly relevant at TeV-PeV energies. We undertake the first systematic approach to these processes (and those with hadronic couplings through virtual W and Z bosons), treating them together, avoiding common approximations, considering all neutrino flavors and final states, and covering the energy range 10 -10 8 GeV. In particular, we present the first complete calculation of W -boson production and the first calculation of trident production at TeV-PeV energies. When we use the same assumptions as in prior work, we recover all of their major results. In a companion paper [1], we show that these processes should be taken into account for IceCube-Gen2.

Complete vectorlike fourth family with U(1)′ : A global analysis

“…The Z contributes to muon-neutrino induced muon pair production off a nucleus ν µ N → ν µ µ + µ − N , the so-called neutrino trident process [6,[107][108][109][110][111]. The cross section for this process at the CCFR experiment is estimated as [111] (see also [112] for a complete SM computation)…”

Hunting the Glashow resonance with PeV neutrino telescopes

“…We notice that in a wide energy range from 4 PeV to 10 PeV, the cross section of ν e −e scattering exceeds that of DIS. Here we ignore the subdominant scattering processes [82][83][84][85][86][87] and the motions of atomic electrons [88] for simplicity.…”

W -boson and trident production in TeV–PeV neutrino observatories

“…The most important processes are on-shell W -boson production, in which the underlying interaction is ν + γ * → + W , and trident production, in which it is ν + γ * → ν + − 1 + + 2 . In a companion paper [1], we make the most comprehensive and precise calculations of these cross sections at high energies. The cross section of W -boson production can be as large as 7.5% of the DIS cross section for water/ice targets (and as large as 14% for iron targets, relevant for neutrino propagation through Earth's core) [1].…”

“…In a companion paper [1], we make the most comprehensive and precise calculations of these cross sections at high energies. The cross section of W -boson production can be as large as 7.5% of the DIS cross section for water/ice targets (and as large as 14% for iron targets, relevant for neutrino propagation through Earth's core) [1]. For trident production, the most important channels are a subset of W -boson production followed by leptonic decays [1].…”

“…The cross section of W -boson production can be as large as 7.5% of the DIS cross section for water/ice targets (and as large as 14% for iron targets, relevant for neutrino propagation through Earth's core) [1]. For trident production, the most important channels are a subset of W -boson production followed by leptonic decays [1]. To set a scale, IceCube has identified 60 events above 60 TeV in 7.5 years of operation [5,6], so taking these subdominant processes into account will be essential for IceCube-Gen2.…”