Monte Carlo study of KDAR $\nu_{\mu}$ charged-current scattering on carbon

Abstract

The neutrino energy reconstruction is crucial for reducing systematic uncertainties in neutrino oscillation experiments and improving cross-section measurements. Kaon-Decays-At-Rest (KDAR) neutrinos provide a unique opportunity to probe neutrino-nucleus interactions at low energies with a precisely known energy of 235.5 MeV. This work presents Monte Carlo predictions of missing energy due to nuclear effects in the KDAR $\nu_\mu$ charged-current scattering on the carbon nucleus for JSNS$^2$. The predictions from GENIE, NuWro, and GiBUU show a significant impact of nuclear and final state interaction (FSI) models, as well as nucleon removal energy, on missing energy reconstruction. Tuning the hA FSI model improves the predictions from GENIE. It is also observed that the nucleon elastic component of FSI leads to better predictions in NuWro compared to GENIE. NuWro shows the best agreement with data among the generators considered; however, the observed discrepancies with data across all generators highlight the limitations of current theoretical descriptions in the low-energy regime and the need for improvements in Monte Carlo modeling.