Model dependence of the neutrino-deuteron disintegration cross sections at low energies

Abstract

Model dependence of the reaction rates for the weak breakup of deuterons by low-energy neutrinos is studied starting from the cross sections derived from potential models and also from pionless effective field theory. Choosing the spread of the reaction yields, caused basically by the different ways the two-body currents are treated, as a measure of the model-dependent uncertainty, we conclude that the breakup reactions are ~2–3% uncertain and that even the ratio of the charged to neutral current reaction rates is also ~2% uncertain.