Comparison of continuum random phase approximation and the elementary particle model for the inclusive muon neutrino reaction on 12C

Abstract

We have shown previously that the continuum random phase approximation (CRPA) reproduces the muon capture rate on 12C and the inclusive 12C( ν e , e −) 12N cross section for Michel spectrum neutrinos, while it overestimates the inclusive 12C( ν μ , μ −) 12N cross section for the LAMPF pion decay-in-flight ν μ neutrino beam. On the other hand, the elementary particle model of Mintz and collaborators is in rough agreement with the ν μ LAMPF data using the muon capture rate as input. In this paper we show that the CRPA also consistently reproduces inelastic electron scattering data at the excitation energies in 12C probed by the LAMPF experiment. To understand the different results of the two models, we compare the assumptions of the elementary particle model with the results of the CRPA and discuss whether experiments can decide which of them is correct.