First measurement of inclusive electron-neutrino + electron-antineutrino cross sections on argon at GeV energies

MicroBooNE reports the first inclusive ν_e + ν̄_e cross-section measurement on argon at the BNB peak energy of ~ 0.7 GeV. The measured flux-averaged cross section, σ = (1.34 ± 0.11) × 10⁻³⁸ cm² / nucleon, is in agreement with GENIE 3.2.0 predictions within 8%.

Editorial assessment

This is a critical input for the DUNE oscillation analysis: ν_e cross-section uncertainties currently dominate the leading systematics for δ_CP measurement. The result reduces this uncertainty by approximately a factor of two in the relevant energy range.

The analysis finds no evidence for the low-energy excess pattern reported by MiniBooNE in the photon channel, narrowing the parameter space for sterile-neutrino interpretations of that anomaly.