Incorporating NA61 data into PPFX for Reducing Flux Uncertainties

Long-baseline (LBL) neutrino oscillation experiments like the NuMI Off-Axis ν_e Appearance (NOvA) and the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) are designed to study neutrino oscillations using muon neutrino beams. The NOvA experiment currently studies oscillations using an off-axis muon neutrino beam, while DUNE is under construction and expected to begin taking beam data in the early 2030's. Due to their excellent sensitivities to various oscillation parameters, these experiments have the potential to reach an era of unprecedented precision.

Neutrino flux predictions are a crucial input for oscillations and many other measurements at NOvA and DUNE. The physical processes that create neutrinos, from the interaction of the primary particles on the target to production of the tertiary neutrino beam, is typically modeled using Geant4-based simulations. For current generation accelerator-based neutrino experiments, the flux uncertainty is between 5% and 15%. We can improve the flux predictions using data from external hadron production experiments like NA61 and EMPHATIC. In this talk, we discuss the correction of hadron production modelling using NA61 60 GeV data.The Package to Predict Flux (PPFX) is used to accomplish the aforementioned task. We will show the reduction introduced in the flux uncertainties of the NOvA and the DUNE simulations.