Self-consistent theory of charged current neutrino-nucleus reactions

A novel theoretical framework has been introduced for description of neutrino induced reactions with nuclei. The properties of target nuclei are determined in a self-consistent way using relativistic mean-field framework based on effective Lagrangians with density dependent meson-nucleon vertex functions. The weak lepton-hadron interaction is expressed in the standard current-current form, the nuclear ground state is described in the relativistic Hartree-Bogolyubov model, and the relevant transitions to excited nuclear states are calculated in the proton-neutron relativistic quasiparticle random phase approximation. This framework has been employed in studies of charged-current neutrino reactions involving nuclei of relevance for neutrino detectors, r-process nuclei, and neutrino-nucleus cross sections averaged over measured neutrino fluxes and supernova neutrino distributions.