Neutrino Interactions with Nucleons and Nuclei: Importance for Long-Baseline Experiments

Abstract

This article reviews our present knowledge of neutrino interactions with nucleons and discusses the interactions with nuclei, the target material of all presently running and planned long-baseline experiments. I emphasize descriptions of semi-inclusive reactions and full descriptions of the final state; the latter are needed to reconstruct the incoming neutrino energy from final-state observations. I then discuss Monte Carlo generator and more advanced transport-theoretical approaches in connection with experimental results on various reaction mechanisms. Finally, I describe the effects of uncertainties in the reconstruction of the incoming neutrino energy on oscillation parameters. The review argues that the precision era of neutrino physics also needs precision-era generators.