First Measurement of Double-Differential Charged Current νμ–Argon Scattering Cross Sections In Kinematic Imbalance Variables With The MicroBooNE Detector*

Making high-precision measurements of neutrino oscillation parameters requires an unprecedented understanding of neutrino-nucleus scattering. In this work, we present the first charged current double-differential cross sections in kinematic imbalance variables. These variables characterize the imbalance in the plane transverse to an incoming neutrino. We use events with a single muon above 100 MeV/c, a single final state proton above 300 MeV/c, and no recorded final state pions. Thus, these variables act as a direct probe of nuclear effects such as final state interactions, Fermi motion, and multi-nucleon processes. Our measurement allows us to constrain systematic uncertainties associated with neutrino oscillation results performed by near-future experiments of the Short Baseline Neutrino (SBN) program, as well as by future large-scale experiments like DUNE.