Phenomenology of different cross-section models at DUNE

Abstract

In this paper, we study the impact of different cross-section models in the measurement of the neutrino oscillation parameters in DUNE. In particular, for the quasi-elastic (QEL) region, we considered the Llewellyn-Smith formalism (LS) and the Hartree-Fock Continuum Random Phase Approximation (HF-CRPA) and for the resonance (RES) region, we consider the Rein-Sehgal (RS) and the Berger-Sehgal (BS) models, and compare our results with the DUNE cross-section tune (Valencia model for QEL and RS model for RES), which was considered in their technical design report. Our results show that while the DUNE tune is best for QEL, the best model for RES is BS. As the DUNE energy region is mainly dominated by RES, for the total cross-section, the HF-CRPA+BS model provides the best strength in the cross-section, whereas the DUNE tune is the weakest among all the configurations considered in our work. Regarding the neutrino mass ordering, CP violation and octant sensitivity, the HF-CRPA+BS model provides $(25- 30)$% improvement, and regarding the precision of the $θ_{23}$ and $Δm^2_{32}$, the same model provides $(15 - 20)$% improvement as compared to the DUNE tune.