We present a systematic analysis of the quasielastic scaling functions computed within the relativistic mean field (RMF) theory and we propose an extension of the superscaling approach (SuSA) model based on these results. The main aim of this work is to develop a realistic and accurate phenomenological model (SuSAv2), which incorporates the different RMF effects in the longitudinal and transverse nuclear responses, as well as in the isovector and isoscalar channels. This provides a complete set of reference scaling functions to describe in a consistent way both $(e,e^{\prime })$ processes and the neutrino/antineutrino-nucleus reactions in the quasielastic region. A comparison of the model predictions with electron and neutrino scattering data is presented.

We present a detailed study of charged-current neutrino-nucleus reactions in a fully relativistic framework and comparisons with recent experiments spanning an energy range from hundreds of MeV up to 100 GeV within the superscaling approach, which is based on the analysis of electron-nucleus scattering data and has been recently improved with the inclusion of relativistic mean field theory effects. We also evaluate and discuss the impact of two-particle two-hole meson-exchange currents on neutrino-nucleus interactions through the analysis of two-particle two-hole axial and vector contributions to weak response functions in a fully relativistic Fermi gas. The results show a fairly good agreement with experimental data over the whole range of neutrino energies.

We present our recent progress on the relativistic modeling of electron-nucleus reactions and compare our predictions with inclusive ${}^{12}\mathrm{C}$ ($e$, $e^{\prime }$) experimental data in a wide kinematical region. The model, originally based on the superscaling phenomenon shown by electron-nucleus scattering data, has recently been improved through the inclusion of relativistic mean field theory effects that take into account the enhancement of the quasielastic transverse scaling function compared with its longitudinal counterpart. In this work, we extend the model to include the complete inelastic spectrum—resonant, nonresonant and deep inelastic scattering. We also discuss the impact of meson-exchange currents through the analysis of two-particle two-hole contributions to electromagnetic response functions evaluated within the framework of the relativistic Fermi gas, considering for the first time not only the transverse but also the longitudinal channel. The results show quite good agreement with data over the whole range of energy transfer, including the dip region between the quasielastic peak and the $\mathrm{\Delta }$ resonance.

We evaluate and discuss the impact of meson-exchange currents (MECs) on charged-current quasielastic neutrino cross sections. We consider the nuclear transverse response arising from two-particle two-hole states excited by the action of electromagnetic, purely isovector meson-exchange currents in a fully relativistic framework based on the work by the Torino Collaboration [A. D. Pace, M. Nardi, W. M. Alberico, T. W. Donnelly, and A. Molinari, Nucl. Phys. A726, 303 (2003)]. An accurate parametrization of this MEC response as a function of the momentum and energy transfers involved is presented. Results of neutrino-nucleus cross sections using this MEC parametrization together with a recent scaling approach for the one-particle one-hole contributions (named SuSAv2) are compared with experimental data.

We first present the implementation and validation of the SuSAv2-MEC 1p1h and 2p2h models in the GENIE neutrino-nucleus interaction event generator and a comparison of the subsequent predictions to measurements of lepton and hadron kinematics from the T2K experiment. These predictions are also compared to those of other available models in GENIE. We further compare semi-inclusive predictions of the implemented 1p1h model to those of the microscopic model on which SuSAv2 is based—relativistic mean field—to begin to test the validity of widely used “factorization” assumptions employed by generators to predict hadron kinematics from inclusive input models. The results highlight that a more precise treatment of hadron kinematics in generators is essential in order to attain the few-% level uncertainty on neutrino interactions necessary for the next generation of accelerator-based long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments.

We show that the quasielastic (QE) response calculated with the superscaling approach (SuSAv2) model, that relies on the scaling phenomenon observed in the analysis of $(e,e^{\prime })$ data and on the relativistic mean-field theory, is very similar to that from a relativistic distorted-wave impulse approximation model when only the real part of the optical potentials is employed. The coincidence between the results from these two completely independent approaches, which satisfactorily agree with the inclusive data, reinforces the reliability of the quasielastic predictions stemming from both models and sets constraints for the QE response. We also study the low-energy and momentum-transfer region of the inclusive response by confronting the results of the relativistic mean-field model with those of the Hartree-Fock continuum random-phase approximation model, which accounts for nuclear long-range correlations. Finally, we present a comparison of our results with the recent Jefferson Laboratory (JLab) $(e,e^{\prime })$ data for argon, titanium, and carbon, finding good agreement with the three data sets.