Charged-current neutrino-nucleus scattering off 127I and 133Cs

Abstract

Calculations of (anti)neutrino-nucleus scattering cross sections are vital since experimental results for these cross sections for terrestrial-based (anti)neutrino sources in the low-to-intermediate energy ranges are exceedingly rare. A recent measurement of the scattering of stopped-pion neutrinos off 127I by the COHERENT Collaboration yielded a cross section that was only 41% of the expected theoretical prediction. Inspired by this, we have computed the cross sections for (anti)neutrino scatterings off 127I and 133Cs by considering also the effect of the quenching of the weak axial coupling gA on the results. Two quenching schemes, a conservative and a radical estimate, were considered. The cross sections as functions of the neutrino energy are presented along with folded cross sections for stopped-pion and supernova (anti)neutrino spectra. The nuclear model used was the microscopic quasiparticle-phonon model based on large single-particle model spaces and realistic G-matrix-based effective two-body interactions. The obtained inclusive cross sections for stopped-pion neutrino scattering off 127I are in good agreement with the experimental results. The results indicate that discrepancy between the experimental and theoretical results could be at least partly explained by the quenching of gA.