Coincidence (e,e'p) Scattering on 40Ar and 48 Ti to Aid Precision Neutrino Oscillation Experiments

Neutrino oscillations are an active area of research, with experiments such as DUNE (Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment). DUNE will make use of large liquid argon detectors to perform a precision measurement of the CP violating phase. Hence, an understanding of the argon nuclear ground state and its response to (anti-)neutrino interactions is of paramount importance. Information about the nuclear ground state is encapsulated in the spectral function, $S(k,E)$, the joint probability of removing a nucleon of momentum $k = |\textbf{k}|$ from the ground state leaving the residual (A-1) system with excitation energy E. E12-14-012 at Jefferson Lab ran in early 2017 and has measured the argon spectral function through coincidence $(e,e^{\prime}p)$ scattering on $^{40}$Ar and $^{48}$Ti. The results of E12-14-012 are important to both the neutrino and nuclear physics communities. A direct measurement of the coincidence $(e,e^{\prime}p)$ cross section from $^{40}$Ar and $^{48}$Ti will provide valuable information about the argon nucleus, as well as the experimental input necessary to constrain theoretical models used to calculate $S(k,E)$, paving the way for reliable estimates of the neutrino cross sections. Data from E12-14-012 is currently being analyzed at UVA and Va. Tech.