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Benchmark Study of CEvNS Nuclear Recoil Observables for B, Mg, Ti, and Zr Targets Using Geant4

Yusuf Havvat

TL;DR

This work establishes a detector-agnostic benchmark for CEvNS recoil observables by comparing four target nuclei (B, Mg, Ti, Zr) under identical Geant4/ROOT conditions with a simplified neutrino source. It implements a NC CEvNS model using the Helm form factor to capture coherence suppression and analyzes recoil-energy spectra, form-factor behavior, and angular distributions. Key findings show that light targets retain coherence over a broad recoil range and yield higher $T$ endpoints, while heavier targets benefit from $N^2$-enhanced cross sections at low $T$ but suffer form-factor suppression at higher momentum transfers. The study provides a reference framework for target-material selection and cross-material benchmarking to guide future CEvNS detector design and simulations.

Abstract

Coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CEvNS) provides a well-defined framework for studying nuclear recoil observables in low-energy neutrino interactions. In this work, we present a comparative Monte Carlo benchmark study of CEvNS-induced nuclear recoils for four target nuclei (B, Mg, Ti, and Zr) using the Geant4 simulation toolkit and the ROOT analysis framework. The study focuses on relative differences in recoil-energy spectra, nuclear form-factor effects, and angular distributions under identical simulation conditions. A deliberately simplified detector geometry is employed to ensure a controlled and transparent comparison between target materials, rather than to model a specific experimental setup. The results highlight how nuclear mass and form-factor suppression influence CEvNS recoil observables and provide a reference-level comparison that may be useful for material-selection studies in CEvNS-related simulations.

Benchmark Study of CEvNS Nuclear Recoil Observables for B, Mg, Ti, and Zr Targets Using Geant4

TL;DR

This work establishes a detector-agnostic benchmark for CEvNS recoil observables by comparing four target nuclei (B, Mg, Ti, Zr) under identical Geant4/ROOT conditions with a simplified neutrino source. It implements a NC CEvNS model using the Helm form factor to capture coherence suppression and analyzes recoil-energy spectra, form-factor behavior, and angular distributions. Key findings show that light targets retain coherence over a broad recoil range and yield higher endpoints, while heavier targets benefit from -enhanced cross sections at low but suffer form-factor suppression at higher momentum transfers. The study provides a reference framework for target-material selection and cross-material benchmarking to guide future CEvNS detector design and simulations.

Abstract

Coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CEvNS) provides a well-defined framework for studying nuclear recoil observables in low-energy neutrino interactions. In this work, we present a comparative Monte Carlo benchmark study of CEvNS-induced nuclear recoils for four target nuclei (B, Mg, Ti, and Zr) using the Geant4 simulation toolkit and the ROOT analysis framework. The study focuses on relative differences in recoil-energy spectra, nuclear form-factor effects, and angular distributions under identical simulation conditions. A deliberately simplified detector geometry is employed to ensure a controlled and transparent comparison between target materials, rather than to model a specific experimental setup. The results highlight how nuclear mass and form-factor suppression influence CEvNS recoil observables and provide a reference-level comparison that may be useful for material-selection studies in CEvNS-related simulations.
Paper Structure (15 sections, 6 equations, 4 figures)

This paper contains 15 sections, 6 equations, 4 figures.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Simulation Framework
  3. Neutrino Source Model
  4. Physics Processes
  5. Data Recording
  6. Detector Geometry
  7. Custom CEvNS Interaction Model
  8. Results
  9. Motivation for Target Nuclei Selection
  10. CEvNS Recoil Energy Spectra
  11. Helm Form Factor Distributions
  12. Nuclear Form Factor Suppression as a Function of Recoil Energy
  13. Recoil Angular Distributions
  14. Discussion
  15. Conclusion

Figures (4)

  • Figure 1: Recoil energy spectra for the four proposed CEvNS target nuclei (B, Mg, Ti and Zr).
  • Figure 2: Distributions of the squared Helm nuclear form factor, $F(q)^2$, for the four proposed CEvNS target nuclei (B, Mg, Ti, and Zr), obtained from Monte Carlo recoil kinematics. Lighter nuclei preserve coherence over a wider recoil-energy range, while heavier nuclei exhibit stronger form-factor suppression due to their larger nuclear radii.
  • Figure 3: Squared Helm form factor $F(q)^2$ as a function of nuclear recoil energy for the four proposed CEvNS target nuclei (B, Mg, Ti and Zr).
  • Figure 4: Scattering–angle distributions of CEvNS–induced nuclear recoils for the four proposed target nuclei (B, Mg, Ti, and Zr). Each panel shows the event counts as a function of polar scattering angle $\theta$ in the laboratory frame, illustrating the forward–peaked but broadly distributed nature of CEvNS recoils in these materials.