Enabling Neutrino Discoveries with Precision Nuclear Science

Present and near-future neutrino experiments are pursuing a broad program of physics measurements, including definitive investigations of neutrino properties, searches for a wide variety of phenomena beyond the Standard Model, and observations of neutrinos from cosmic sources such as core-collapse supernovae. Efforts to achieve these ambitious goals have become increasingly reliant on detailed modeling of the nuclear interaction physics relevant for neutrino scattering and related processes. Close collaboration between the nuclear and particle physics communities will therefore be essential to meet the field's stringent modeling requirements and thus maximize the potential for an array of exciting neutrino-related discoveries. In this talk, I will highlight several examples of how ongoing research in nuclear physics is empowering neutrino experiments to pursue scientific questions that would otherwise remain out of reach. Applications to measurements with the upcoming Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) hosted by Fermilab will be especially emphasized, and topics at both GeV and MeV energies will be discussed.