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

Understand

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 $\sim 5$ 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, $\gamma^\ast$: (on-shell) $W$-boson production (e.g., where the underlying interaction is $\nu_\ell + \gamma^\ast \rightarrow \ell^- + W^+$) and trident production (e.g., where it is $\nu + \gamma^\ast \rightarrow \nu + \ell_1^- + \ell_2^+$).