← Latest papers
⚛️ high-energy experiments

Towards mono-energetic virtual νν beam cross-section measurements: A feasibility study of νν-Ar interaction analysis with DUNE-PRISM

This feasibility study demonstrates that the DUNE-PRISM concept can utilize a movable near detector to construct narrow virtual neutrino fluxes, enabling model-independent measurements of muon neutrino charged-current cross sections with high precision, although large exposures are required to achieve few-percent statistical uncertainties for differential measurements.

Original authors: DUNE Collaboration, S. Abbaslu, A. Abed Abud, R. Acciarri, L. P. Accorsi, M. A. Acero, M. R. Adames, G. Adamov, M. Adamowski, C. Adriano, F. Akbar, F. Alemanno, N. S. Alex, K. Allison, M. Alrashed, A.
Published 2026-07-27
📖 4 min read🧠 Deep dive

Original authors: DUNE Collaboration, S. Abbaslu, A. Abed Abud, R. Acciarri, L. P. Accorsi, M. A. Acero, M. R. Adames, G. Adamov, M. Adamowski, C. Adriano, F. Akbar, F. Alemanno, N. S. Alex, K. Allison, M. Alrashed, A. Alton, R. Alvarez, T. Alves, A. Aman, H. Amar, P. Amedo, J. Anderson, D. A. Andrade, C. Andreopoulos, M. Andreotti, M. P. Andrews, F. Andrianala, S. Andringa, F. Anjarazafy, S. Ansarifard, D. Antic, M. Antoniassi, A. Aranda-Fernandez, L. Arellano, E. Arrieta Diaz, M. A. Arroyave, M. Arteropons, J. Asaadi, M. Ascencio, A. Ashkenazi, D. Asner, L. Asquith, E. Atkin, D. Auguste, A. Aurisano, V. Aushev, D. Autiero, D. Ávila Gómez, M. B. Azam, F. Azfar, A. Back, J. J. Back, Y. Bae, I. Bagaturia, L. Bagby, D. Baigarashev, S. Balasubramanian, A. Balboni, P. Baldi, W. Baldini, J. Baldonedo, B. Baller, B. Bambah, F. Barao, D. Barbu, G. Barenboim, P. Barham Alzás, G. J. Barker, W. Barkhouse, G. Barr, A. Barros, N. Barros, D. Barrow, J. L. Barrow, A. Basharina-Freshville, A. Bashyal, V. Basque, M. Bassani, D. Basu, C. Batchelor, L. Bathe-Peters, J. B. R. Battat, F. Battisti, J. Bautista, F. Bay, J. L. L. Bazo Alba, J. F. Beacom, E. Bechetoille, B. Behera, E. Belchior, B. Bell, G. Bell, L. Bellantoni, G. Bellettini, V. Bellini, O. Beltramello, A. Belyaev, C. Benitez Montiel, D. Benjamin, F. Bento Neves, J. Berger, S. Berkman, J. Bermudez, J. Bernal, P. Bernardini, A. Bersani, E. Bertholet, E. Bertolini, S. Bertolucci, M. Betancourt, A. Betancur Rodríguez, Y. Bezawada, A. T. Bezerra, A. Bhat, V. Bhatnagar, M. Bhattacharjee, S. Bhattacharjee, M. Bhattacharya, S. Bhuller, B. Bhuyan, S. Biagi, J. Bian, K. Biery, B. Bilki, M. Bishai, A. Blake, F. D. Blaszczyk, G. C. Blazey, E. Blucher, B. Bogart, J. Boissevain, S. Bolognesi, T. Bolton, L. Bomben, M. Bonesini, C. Bonilla-Diaz, A. Booth, F. Boran, R. Borges Merlo, N. Bostan, G. Botogoske, B. Bottino, R. Bouet, J. Boza, J. Bracinik, B. Brahma, D. Brailsford, F. Bramati, A. Branca, A. Brandt, J. Bremer, S. J. Brice, V. Brio, C. Brizzolari, C. Bromberg, J. Brooke, A. Bross, G. Brunetti, M. B. Brunetti, N. Buchanan, H. Budd, J. Buergi, A. Bundock, D. Burgardt, S. Butchart, G. Caceres V., R. Calabrese, R. Calabrese, J. Calcutt, L. Calivers, E. Calvo, A. Caminata, A. F. Camino, W. Campanelli, A. Campani, A. Campos Benitez, N. Canci, J. Capó, I. Caracas, D. Caratelli, D. Carber, J. M. Carceller, G. Carini, B. Carlus, M. F. Carneiro, P. Carniti, I. Caro Terrazas, H. Carranza, N. Carrara, L. Carroll, T. Carroll, A. Carter, E. Casarejos, D. Casazza, J. F. Castaño Forero, F. A. Castaño, C. Castromonte, E. Catano-Mur, C. Cattadori, F. Cavalier, F. Cavanna, S. Centro, G. Cerati, C. Cerna, A. Cervelli, A. Cervera Villanueva, J. Chakrani, M. Chalifour, A. Chappell, A. Chatterjee, B. Chauhan, C. Chavez Barajas, H. Chen, M. Chen, W. C. Chen, Y. Chen, Z. Chen, D. Cherdack, S. S. Chhibra, C. Chi, F. Chiapponi, R. Chirco, N. Chitirasreemadam, K. Cho, S. Choate, G. Choi, D. Chokheli, P. S. Chong, B. Chowdhury, D. Christian, M. Chung, E. Church, M. F. Cicala, M. Cicerchia, V. Cicero, R. Ciolini, P. Clarke, G. Cline, A. G. Cocco, J. A. B. Coelho, A. Cohen, J. Collazo, J. Collot, H. Combs, J. M. Conrad, L. Conti, T. Contreras, M. Convery, K. Conway, S. Copello, P. Cova, C. Cox, L. Cremonesi, J. I. Crespo-Anadón, M. Crisler, E. Cristaldo, J. Crnkovic, G. Crone, R. Cross, A. Cudd, C. Cuesta, Y. Cui, F. Curciarello, D. Cussans, J. Dai, O. Dalager, W. Dallaway, R. D'Amico, H. da Motta, Z. A. Dar, R. Darby, L. Da Silva Peres, Q. David, G. S. Davies, S. Davini, J. Dawson, R. De Aguiar, P. Debbins, M. P. Decowski, A. de Gouvêa, P. C. De Holanda, P. De Jong, P. Del Amo Sanchez, G. De Lauretis, A. Delbart, M. Delgado, A. Dell'Acqua, G. Delle Monache, N. Delmonte, P. De Lurgio, G. De Matteis, J. R. T. de Mello Neto, A. P. A. De Mendonca, D. M. DeMuth, S. Dennis, C. Densham, P. Denton, G. W. Deptuch, A. De Roeck, V. De Romeri, J. P. Detje, J. Devine, K. Dhanmeher, R. Dharmapalan, M. Dias, A. Diaz, J. S. Díaz, F. Díaz, F. Di Capua, A. Di Domenico, S. Di Domizio, S. Di Falco, L. Di Giulio, P. Ding, L. Di Noto, E. Diociaiuti, G. Di Sciascio, V. Di Silvestre, C. Distefano, R. Di Stefano, R. Diurba, M. Diwan, Z. Djurcic, S. Dolan, M. Dolce, M. J. Dolinski, D. Domenici, S. Dominguez, S. Donati, S. Doran, D. Douglas, T. A. Doyle, F. Drielsma, D. Duchesneau, K. Duffy, K. Dugas, P. Dunne, B. Dutta, D. A. Dwyer, A. S. Dyshkant, S. Dytman, M. Eads, A. Earle, S. Edayath, D. Edmunds, J. Eisch, W. Emark, P. Englezos, A. Ereditato, T. Erjavec, C. O. Escobar, J. J. Evans, E. Ewart, A. C. Ezeribe, K. Fahey, A. Falcone, M. Fani', D. Faragher, C. Farnese, Y. Farzan, J. Felix, Y. Feng, M. Ferreira da Silva, G. Ferry, E. Fialova, L. Fields, P. Filip, A. Filkins, F. Filthaut, G. Fiorillo, M. Fiorini, S. Fogarty, W. Foreman, J. Fowler, J. Franc, K. Francis, D. Franco, J. Franklin, J. Freeman, J. Fried, A. Friedland, M. Fucci, S. Fuess, I. K. Furic, K. Furman, A. P. Furmanski, R. Gaba, A. Gabrielli, A. M Gago, F. Galizzi, H. Gallagher, M. Galli, N. Gallice, V. Galymov, E. Gamberini, T. Gamble, R. Gandhi, S. Ganguly, F. Gao, S. Gao, D. Garcia-Gamez, M. Á. García-Peris, F. Gardim, S. Gardiner, A. Gartman, A. Gauch, P. Gauzzi, S. Gazzana, G. Ge, N. Geffroy, B. Gelli, S. Gent, L. Gerlach, A. Ghosh, T. Giammaria, D. Gibin, I. Gil-Botella, A. Gioiosa, S. Giovannella, A. K. Giri, V. Giusti, D. Gnani, O. Gogota, S. Gollapinni, K. Gollwitzer, R. A. Gomes, L. S. Gomez Fajardo, D. Gonzalez-Diaz, J. Gonzalez-Santome, M. C. Goodman, S. Goswami, C. Gotti, J. Goudeau, C. Grace, E. Gramellini, R. Gran, P. Granger, C. Grant, D. R. Gratieri, G. Grauso, P. Green, S. Greenberg, W. C. Griffith, A. Gruber, K. Grzelak, L. Gu, W. Gu, V. Guarino, M. Guarise, R. Guenette, M. Guerzoni, D. Guffanti, A. Guglielmi, F. Y. Guo, A. Gupta, V. Gupta, G. Gurung, D. Gutierrez, P. Guzowski, M. M. Guzzo, S. Gwon, A. Habig, L. Haegel, R. Hafeji, L. Hagaman, A. Hahn, J. Hakenmüller, T. Hamernik, P. Hamilton, J. Hancock, M. Handley, F. Happacher, B. Harris, D. A. Harris, L. Harris, A. L. Hart, J. Hartnell, T. Hartnett, J. Harton, T. Hasegawa, C. M. Hasnip, R. Hatcher, S. Hawkins, J. Hays, M. He, A. Heavey, K. M. Heeger, A. Heindel, J. Heise, P. Hellmuth, L. Henderson, K. Herner, V. Hewes, A. Higuera, A. Himmel, E. Hinkle, L. R. Hirsch, J. Ho, J. Hoefken Zink, J. Hoff, A. Holin, T. Holvey, C. Hong, S. Horiuchi, G. A. Horton-Smith, R. Hosokawa, T. Houdy, B. Howard, R. Howell, I. Hristova, M. S. Hronek, H. Hua, J. Huang, R. G. Huang, X. Huang, Z. Hulcher, A. Hussain, G. Iles, N. Ilic, A. M. Iliescu, R. Illingworth, G. Ingratta, A. Ioannisian, M. Ismerio Oliveira, C. M. Jackson, V. Jain, E. James, W. Jang, B. Jargowsky, D. Jena, I. Jentz, C. Jiang, J. Jiang, A. Jipa, J. H. Jo, F. R. Joaquim, W. Johnson, C. Jollet, R. Jones, N. Jovancevic, M. Judah, C. K. Jung, K. Y. Jung, T. Junk, Y. Jwa, M. Kabirnezhad, A. C. Kaboth, I. Kadenko, O. Kalikulov, D. Kalra, M. Kandemir, S. Kar, G. Karagiorgi, G. Karaman, A. Karcher, Y. Karyotakis, S. P. Kasetti, L. Kashur, A. Kauther, N. Kazaryan, L. Ke, E. Kearns, P. T. Keener, K. J. Kelly, R. Keloth, E. Kemp, O. Kemularia, Y. Kermaidic, W. Ketchum, S. H. Kettell, N. Khan, A. Khvedelidze, D. Kim, J. Kim, M. J. Kim, S. Kim, B. King, M. King, M. Kirby, A. Kish, J. Klein, J. Kleykamp, A. Klustova, T. Kobilarcik, L. Koch, K. Koehler, L. W. Koerner, D. H. Koh, M. Kordosky, T. Kosc, V. A. Kostelecký, I. Kotler, W. Krah, R. Kralik, M. Kramer, F. Krennrich, T. Kroupova, S. Kubota, M. Kubu, V. A. Kudryavtsev, G. Kufatty, S. Kuhlmann, A. Kumar, J. Kumar, M. Kumar, P. Kumar, P. Kumar, S. Kumaran, J. Kunzmann, V. Kus, T. Kutter, J. Kvasnicka, T. Labree, M. Lachat, T. Lackey, I. Lalău, A. Lambert, B. J. Land, C. E. Lane, N. Lane, K. Lang, T. Langford, M. Langstaff, F. Lanni, J. Larkin, P. Lasorak, D. Last, A. Laundrie, G. Laurenti, E. Lavaut, H. Lay, I. Lazanu, R. LaZur, M. Lazzaroni, S. Leardini, J. Learned, T. LeCompte, G. Lehmann Miotto, R. Lehnert, M. Leitner, H. Lemoine, D. Leon Silverio, L. M. Lepin, J. -Y. Li, S. W. Li, Y. Li, R. Lima, C. S. Lin, D. Lindebaum, S. Linden, R. A. Lineros, A. Lister, B. R. Littlejohn, J. Liu, Y. Liu, S. Lockwitz, I. Lomidze, K. Long, J. Lopez, I. López de Rego, N. López-March, J. M. LoSecco, A. Lozano Sanchez, X. -G. Lu, K. B. Luk, X. Luo, E. Luppi, A. A. Machado, P. Machado, C. T. Macias, J. R. Macier, M. MacMahon, S. Magill, C. Magueur, K. Mahn, A. Maio, N. Majeed, A. Major, K. Majumdar, A. Malige, S. Mameli, M. Man, R. C. Mandujano, J. Maneira, S. Manly, K. Manolopoulos, M. Manrique Plata, S. Manthey Corchado, L. Manzanillas-Velez, E. Mao, M. Marchan, A. Marchionni, D. Marfatia, C. Mariani, J. Maricic, F. Marinho, A. D. Marino, T. Markiewicz, F. Das Chagas Marques, M. Marshak, C. M. Marshall, J. Marshall, L. Martina, J. Martín-Albo, D. A. Martinez Caicedo, M. Martinez-Casales, F. Martínez López, S. Martynenko, V. Mascagna, A. Mastbaum, M. Masud, F. Matichard, G. Matteucci, J. Matthews, C. Mauger, N. Mauri, K. Mavrokoridis, I. Mawby, F. Mayhew, T. McAskill, N. McConkey, B. McConnell, K. S. McFarland, C. McGivern, C. McGrew, A. McNab, C. McNulty, J. Mead, L. Meazza, V. C. N. Meddage, A. Medhi, M. Mehmood, B. Mehta, P. Mehta, F. Mei, P. Melas, L. Mellet, T. C. D. Melo, O. Mena, H. Mendez, D. P. Méndez, A. Menegolli, G. Meng, A. C. E. A. Mercuri, A. Meregaglia, M. D. Messier, S. Metallo, W. Metcalf, M. Mewes, H. Meyer, T. Miao, J. Micallef, A. Miccoli, G. Michna, R. Milincic, F. Miller, G. Miller, W. Miller, A. Minotti, L. Miralles Verge, C. Mironov, S. Miscetti, C. S. Mishra, P. Mishra, S. R. Mishra, D. Mladenov, I. Mocioiu, A. Mogan, R. Mohanta, T. A. Mohayai, N. Mokhov, J. Molina, L. Molina Bueno, E. Montagna, A. Montanari, C. Montanari, D. Montanari, D. Montanino, L. M. Montaño Zetina, M. Mooney, A. F. Moor, M. Moore, Z. Moore, D. Moreno, G. Moreno-Granados, O. Moreno-Palacios, L. Morescalchi, C. Morris, E. Motuk, C. A. Moura, G. Mouster, W. Mu, L. Mualem, J. Mueller, M. Muether, F. Muheim, A. Muir, Y. Mukhamejanov, A. Mukhamejanova, M. Mulhearn, D. Munford, L. J. Munteanu, H. Muramatsu, J. Muraz, M. Murphy, T. Murphy, A. Mytilinaki, J. Nachtman, Y. Nagai, S. Nagu, D. Naples, S. Narita, J. Nava, A. Navrer-Agasson, N. Nayak, M. Nebot-Guinot, A. Nehm, J. K. Nelson, O. Neogi, J. Nesbit, M. Nessi, D. Newbold, M. Newcomer, D. Newmark, R. Nichol, F. Nicolas-Arnaldos, A. Nielsen, A. Nikolica, J. Nikolov, E. Niner, X. Ning, K. Nishimura, A. Norman, A. Norrick, P. Novella, A. Nowak, J. A. Nowak, M. Oberling, J. P. Ochoa-Ricoux, S. Oh, S. B. Oh, A. Olivier, T. Olson, Y. Onel, Y. Onishchuk, A. Oranday, M. Osbiston, J. A. Osorio Vélez, L. O'Sullivan, L. Otiniano Ormachea, L. Pagani, G. Palacio, O. Palamara, S. Palestini, J. M. Paley, M. Pallavicini, C. Palomares, S. Pan, M. Panareo, P. Panda, V. Pandey, W. Panduro Vazquez, E. Pantic, V. Paolone, A. Papadopoulou, R. Papaleo, D. Papoulias, S. Paramesvaran, J. Park, S. Parke, S. Parsa, S. Parveen, M. Parvu, D. Pasciuto, S. Pascoli, L. Pasqualini, J. Pasternak, G. Patel, J. L. Paton, C. Patrick, L. Patrizii, R. B. Patterson, T. Patzak, A. Paudel, J. Paul, L. Paulucci, Z. Pavlovic, G. Pawloski, D. Payne, A. Peake, V. Pec, E. Pedreschi, S. J. M. Peeters, W. Pellico, E. Pennacchio, A. Penzo, O. L. G. Peres, Y. F. Perez Gonzalez, L. Pérez-Molina, C. Pernas, J. Perry, D. Pershey, G. Pessina, G. Petrillo, C. Petta, R. Petti, M. Pfaff, V. Pia, G. M. Piacentino, L. Pickering, L. Pierini, F. Pietropaolo, V. L. Pimentel, G. Pinaroli, S. Pincha, J. Pinchault, K. Pitts, P. Plesniak, K. Pletcher, K. Plows, C. Pollack, T. Pollmann, F. Pompa, X. Pons, N. Poonthottathil, V. Popov, F. Poppi, J. Porter, L. G. Porto Paixão, M. Potekhin, M. Pozzato, R. Pradhan, T. Prakash, M. Prest, F. Psihas, D. Pugnere, D. Pullia, X. Qian, J. Queen, J. L. Raaf, M. Rabelhofer, V. Radeka, J. Rademacker, F. Raffaelli, A. Rafique, A. Rahe, S. Rajagopalan, M. Rajaoalisoa, I. Rakhno, L. Rakotondravohitra, M. A. Ralaikoto, L. Ralte, M. A. Ramirez Delgado, B. Ramson, S. S. Randriamanampisoa, A. Rappoldi, G. Raselli, T. Rath, P. Ratoff, R. Ray, H. Razafinime, R. F. Razakamiandra, E. M. Rea, J. S. Real, B. Rebel, R. Rechenmacher, J. Reichenbacher, S. D. Reitzner, E. Renner, S. Repetto, S. Rescia, F. Resnati, C. Reynolds, M. Ribas, S. Riboldi, C. Riccio, G. Riccobene, J. S. Ricol, M. Rigan, A. Rikalo, E. V. Rincón, A. Ritchie-Yates, D. Rivera, A. Robert, A. Roberts, E. Robles, M. Roda, D. Rodas Rodríguez, M. J. O. Rodrigues, J. Rodriguez Rondon, S. Rosauro-Alcaraz, P. Rosier, D. Ross, M. Rossella, M. Ross-Lonergan, T. Rotsy, N. Roy, P. Roy, P. Roy, C. Rubbia, D. Rudik, A. Ruggeri, G. Ruiz Ferreira, K. Rushiya, B. Russell, S. Sacerdoti, N. Saduyev, S. K. Sahoo, N. Sahu, S. Sakhiyev, P. Sala, G. Salmoria, S. Samanta, M. C. Sanchez, A. Sánchez-Castillo, P. Sanchez-Lucas, D. A. Sanders, S. Sanfilippo, D. Santoro, N. Saoulidou, P. Sapienza, I. Sarcevic, I. Sarra, G. Savage, V. Savinov, G. Scanavini, A. Scanu, A. Scaramelli, T. Schefke, H. Schellman, S. Schifano, P. Schlabach, D. Schmitz, A. W. Schneider, K. Scholberg, A. Schroeder, A. Schukraft, B. Schuld, S. Schwartz, A. Segade, E. Segreto, A. Selyunin, C. R. Senise, J. Sensenig, S. H. Seo, D. Seppela, M. H. Shaevitz, P. Shanahan, P. Sharma, R. Kumar, S. Sharma Poudel, K. Shaw, T. Shaw, K. Shchablo, J. Shen, C. Shepherd-Themistocleous, J. Shi, W. Shi, S. Shin, S. Shivakoti, A. Shmakov, I. Shoemaker, D. Shooltz, R. Shrock, M. Siden, J. Silber, L. Simard, J. Sinclair, G. Sinev, Jaydip Singh, J. Singh, L. Singh, P. Singh, V. Singh, S. Singh Chauhan, R. Sipos, C. Sironneau, G. Sirri, K. Siyeon, K. Skarpaas, J. Smedley, J. Smith, P. Smith, J. Smolik, M. Smy, M. Snape, E. L. Snider, P. Snopok, M. Soares Nunes, H. Sobel, M. Soderberg, H. Sogarwal, C. J. Solano Salinas, S. Söldner-Rembold, N. Solomey, V. Solovov, W. E. Sondheim, M. Sorbara, M. Sorel, J. Soto-Oton, A. Sousa, K. Soustruznik, D. Souza Correia, F. Spinella, J. Spitz, N. J. C. Spooner, D. Stalder, M. Stancari, L. Stanco, J. Steenis, R. Stein, H. M. Steiner, A. F. Steklain Lisbôa, J. Stewart, B. Stillwell, J. Stock, T. Stokes, T. Strauss, L. Strigari, A. Stuart, J. G. Suarez, J. Subash, A. Surdo, L. Suter, A. Sutton, K. Sutton, Y. Suvorov, R. Svoboda, S. K. Swain, C. Sweeney, B. Szczerbinska, A. M. Szelc, A. Sztuc, A. Taffara, N. Talukdar, J. Tamara, H. A. Tanaka, S. Tang, N. Taniuchi, A. M. Tapia Casanova, A. Tapper, S. Tariq, E. Tatar, R. Tayloe, A. M. Teklu, K. Tellez Giron Flores, J. Tena Vidal, P. Tennessen, M. Tenti, K. Terao, F. Terranova, G. Testera, T. Thakore, A. Thea, S. Thomas, A. Thompson, C. Thorpe, S. C. Timm, E. Tiras, V. Tishchenko, S. Tiwari, N. Todorović, L. Tomassetti, A. Tonazzo, D. Torbunov, D. Torres Muñoz, M. Torti, M. Tortola, Y. Torun, N. Tosi, D. Totani, M. Toups, C. Touramanis, V. Trabattoni, D. Tran, J. Trevor, E. Triller, S. Trilov, D. Trotta, J. Truchon, D. Truncali, W. H. Trzaska, Y. Tsai, Y. -T. Tsai, Z. Tsamalaidze, K. V. Tsang, N. Tsverava, S. Z. Tu, S. Tufanli, C. Tunnell, J. Turner, M. Tuzi, M. Tzanov, M. A. Uchida, J. Ureña González, J. Urheim, T. Usher, H. Utaegbulam, S. Uzunyan, M. R. Vagins, P. Vahle, G. A. Valdiviesso, E. Valencia, R. Valentim, Z. Vallari, E. Vallazza, J. W. F. Valle, R. Van Berg, D. V. Forero, A. Vannozzi, M. Van Nuland-Troost, F. Varanini, D. Vargas Oliva, N. Vaughan, K. Vaziri, A. Vázquez-Ramos, J. Vega, J. Vences, S. Ventura, A. Verdugo, M. Verzocchi, K. Vetter, M. Vicenzi, H. Vieira de Souza, C. Vignoli, C. Vilela, E. Villa, S. Viola, B. Viren, G. V. Stenico, R. Vizarreta, A. P. Vizcaya Hernandez, S. Vlachos, G. Vorobyev, Q. Vuong, A. V. Waldron, L. Walker, H. Wallace, M. Wallach, J. Walsh, T. Walton, L. Wan, B. Wang, H. Wang, J. Wang, M. H. L. S. Wang, X. Wang, Y. Wang, D. Warner, L. Warsame, M. O. Wascko, D. Waters, A. Watson, K. Wawrowska, A. Weber, C. M. Weber, M. Weber, H. Wei, A. Weinstein, S. Westerdale, M. Wetstein, K. Whalen, A. J. White, L. H. Whitehead, D. Whittington, F. Wieler, J. Wilhlemi, M. J. Wilking, A. Wilkinson, C. Wilkinson, F. Wilson, R. J. Wilson, P. Winter, J. Wolcott, J. Wolfs, T. Wongjirad, A. Wood, K. Wood, E. Worcester, M. Worcester, K. Wresilo, M. Wright, M. Wrobel, S. Wu, W. Wu, Z. Wu, M. Wurm, J. Wyenberg, B. M. Wynne, Y. Xiao, I. Xiotidis, B. Yaeggy, N. Yahlali, E. Yandel, G. Yang, J. Yang, T. Yang, A. Yankelevich, L. Yates, U. Yevarouskaya, K. Yonehara, T. Young, B. Yu, H. Yu, J. Yu, W. Yuan, M. Zabloudil, R. Zaki, J. Zalesak, L. Zambelli, B. Zamorano, A. Zani, O. Zapata, L. Zazueta, G. P. Zeller, J. Zennamo, J. Zettlemoyer, K. Zeug, C. Zhang, S. Zhang, Y. Zhang, L. Zhao, M. Zhao, E. D. Zimmerman, S. Zucchelli, V. Zutshi, R. Zwaska

Original paper licensed under CC BY 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This is an AI-generated explanation of the paper below. It is not written or endorsed by the authors. For technical accuracy, refer to the original paper. Read full disclaimer

Imagine the universe is filled with ghostly particles called neutrinos. These tiny travelers zip through everything—stars, planets, and even your body—without ever saying hello or leaving a trace. They are so elusive that catching one is like trying to grab a specific grain of sand from a beach during a hurricane. Scientists have built massive detectors deep underground to catch these ghosts, hoping to understand why the universe is made of matter instead of being wiped out by antimatter. But there's a catch: to understand the neutrino, scientists first need to understand how it bumps into atoms. It's like trying to figure out how a billiard ball moves by watching it hit a pool table, but the table itself is made of jello that changes shape every time you touch it.

For a long time, scientists have been stuck in a fog. They know the neutrinos arrive in a chaotic mix of energies, like a radio station broadcasting every song at once. When they measure how often a neutrino hits an atom, they get an average result, which blurs the details. It's like trying to taste a complex stew but only getting a spoonful that mixes every ingredient together; you can't tell if the salt is too high or if the pepper is missing. To fix this, they need to isolate specific "flavors" of neutrino energy, but nature doesn't hand them neat, single-energy beams. This is where the new study steps in, proposing a clever trick to turn a chaotic mix into a clear, single note.

The paper you're about to read is a "feasibility study," which is a fancy way of saying, "Let's run a super-detailed simulation to see if this crazy idea actually works." The team behind the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) is looking at a concept called DUNE-PRISM. Imagine a giant, movable camera that can slide back and forth around a beam of neutrinos. As the camera moves to different angles, the "view" of the neutrino beam changes; some angles show mostly low-energy neutrinos, others show high-energy ones. The scientists realized that by mathematically mixing the data from all these different angles, they could create a "virtual" beam. It's like taking a blurry photo of a crowd from ten different angles and using a computer to stitch them together into a crystal-clear photo of just one person.

In this study, the researchers simulated what would happen if they used this DUNE-PRISM setup to measure how neutrinos interact with Argon atoms. They didn't build the machine or run the experiment yet; they built a perfect digital twin of it in a computer. They assumed the detector was "almost perfect," meaning it could see every particle without any glitches, to see if the math alone could do the job. The results are promising: the simulation suggests that by using these virtual beams, they can measure the "cross-section" (a fancy word for the probability of a collision) with much greater clarity than ever before. They found that they could isolate neutrinos with very specific energies, creating narrow "virtual fluxes" that are less than 100 MeV wide. This allows them to see the details of the interaction, like the difference between a gentle tap and a hard hit, which was previously impossible with the broad, messy beams.

However, the paper is careful not to shout "We did it!" just yet. Because this is a simulation, the authors suggest that while the method works in theory, the real world might be messier. They found that to get very precise measurements of the tiny details (differential cross-sections), they would need a huge amount of data—perhaps running the experiment for about 10 years. They also noted that while they can get a very clear picture of the overall shape of the interaction, the exact number of collisions (normalization) still has some uncertainty, mostly because of how the neutrino beam itself varies. But the big takeaway is that this "virtual beam" trick could unlock a new way to see neutrinos, turning a blurry, confusing storm of data into a sharp, readable map of how these ghost particles behave. It's a proof of concept that says, "If we build this movable detector and use this math, we might finally be able to hear the neutrino's whisper clearly."

Drowning in papers in your field?

Get daily digests of the most novel papers matching your research keywords — with technical summaries, in your language.

Try Digest →