Tau polarization in neutrino-nucleus interactions at the LHC energy range

Abstract

Considering that the study of neutrino-nucleus interactions with incident neutrino energy ranges in the GeV–TeV range is feasible at the Large Hadron Collider, we investigate in this paper the degree of polarization P of the (anti)tau lepton produced in (anti)tau neutrino-tungsten interactions. We estimate the differential cross sections and the longitudinal and transverse components of the tau lepton polarization as a function of the tau lepton energy and distinct values of the scattering angle, assuming different values for the energy of the incoming (anti)tau neutrino. Different models for the treatment of the nuclear effects in the parton distribution functions are assumed as input in the calculations. Our results indicate that P<1 for the neutrino energies reached at the LHC and are almost insensitive to the nuclear effects. Published by the American Physical Society 2024