An effective topology-transfer nuisance for Genie-based neutrino-argon semi-inclusive analyses: a methodological proposal with MicroBooNE-constrained diagnostic
Abstract
Liquid-argon TPC oscillation analyses increasingly split samples into proton-tagged (Np) and proton-less (0p) topologies at the ~35 MeV tracking threshold, but the standard GENIE Reweight library has no dial that transfers events across this boundary. We propose a single empirical nuisance parameter, fmig, that fills this gap as a per-event reweight on nominal GENIE output, implementable without event regeneration. It is presented as a methodological diagnostic: an effective topology-transfer surrogate absorbing an unspecified combination of near-threshold proton mismodelling effects (proton-side FSI, nucleon-momentum distribution, RES Q2 shape, MEC kinematic shape), not a measurement of any single microscopic mechanism. As a reference scale, the position-dependent mean-field energy loss absent from GENIE's cascade is estimated from the 40Ar density profile to be a few percent, consistent with proton-transparency differences reported between cascade and transport generators on MicroBooNE data. The primary constraint is a direct scan on the MicroBooNE simultaneous CC 0p/Np differential cross-section release with no sector-weight regularisation: f̂mig = 0.093 ± 0.024, 3.8σ (Wilks) / 3.2σ (empirical). A supporting NC Δ radiative sideband fit gives f̂mig = 0.050+0.029−0.022, conditional on sector-weight priors; the two datasets share flux/detector systematics and are corroborating rather than independent. Introducing fmig also relieves a compensatory CCRES sector-weight suppression in migration-blind fits. The extracted parameter is best understood as a flux-integrated effective nuisance direction for the MicroBooNE BNB configuration, suitable as a candidate GENIE dial for future LArTPC analyses pending detector-level validation.
Related
- Constraining Effective Viscosity in the Intracluster Medium via the Thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich Effect -- Predictions from the SLOW Constrained Coma Cluster Simulations
- Tension between MiniBooNE and MicroBooNE within a 3+1 Sterile Neutrino Framework using Simulation-Based Inference
- First Measurement of Differential Cross Sections in Kinematic Imbalance Variables with Electron Neutrino Interactions Using the MicroBooNE Detector
- Characterizing the energy resolution of the MicroBooNE LArTPC at the MeV scale using monoenergetic features of 208Tl decays
- Implications for new physics solutions to the LSND and MiniBooNE anomalies after MicroBooNE results
BibTeX
@misc{viaux2026effective,
title = {{An effective topology-transfer nuisance for Genie-based neutrino-argon semi-inclusive analyses: a methodological proposal with MicroBooNE-constrained diagnostic}},
author = {Nicolas Viaux},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.17131},
eprint = {2609.17131},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.17131},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - An effective topology-transfer nuisance for Genie-based neutrino-argon semi-inclusive analyses: a methodological proposal with MicroBooNE-constrained diagnostic
AU - Nicolas Viaux
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/15
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.17131
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.17131
AB - Liquid-argon TPC oscillation analyses increasingly split samples into proton-tagged (Np) and proton-less (0p) topologies at the ~35 MeV tracking threshold, but the standard GENIE Reweight library has no dial that transfers events across this boundary. We propose a single empirical nuisance parameter, f_mig, that fills this gap as a per-event reweight on nominal GENIE output, implementable without event regeneration. It is presented as a methodological diagnostic: an effective topology-transfer surrogate absorbing an unspecified combination of near-threshold proton mismodelling effects (proton-side FSI, nucleon-momentum distribution, RES Q^2 shape, MEC kinematic shape), not a measurement of any single microscopic mechanism. As a reference scale, the position-dependent mean-field energy loss absent from GENIE's cascade is estimated from the ^40Ar density profile to be a few percent, consistent with proton-transparency differences reported between cascade and transport generators on MicroBooNE data. The primary constraint is a direct scan on the MicroBooNE simultaneous CC 0p/Np differential cross-section release with no sector-weight regularisation: f̂_mig = 0.093 ± 0.024, 3.8σ (Wilks) / 3.2σ (empirical). A supporting NC Δ radiative sideband fit gives f̂_mig = 0.050^+0.029_−0.022, conditional on sector-weight priors; the two datasets share flux/detector systematics and are corroborating rather than independent. Introducing f_mig also relieves a compensatory CCRES sector-weight suppression in migration-blind fits. The extracted parameter is best understood as a flux-integrated effective nuisance direction for the MicroBooNE BNB configuration, suitable as a candidate GENIE dial for future LArTPC analyses pending detector-level validation.
ER -