Deeply Virtual Neutrino Production of π⁰ from Nucleon and Nuclear Targets

In most experiments aimed at determining the masses and mixing parameters for neutrino oscillations in different energy regimes there are strong backgrounds to neutrino interactions with matter that can confuse the expected small signals. One particular set of backgrounds is due to neutrino production of mesons, particularly pions, from nucleon or nuclear targets. It is especially important and theoretically interesting in itself to study $coherent$ neutrino production of pions, i.e. wherein the target does not break up. Preserving the target requires that the meson produced in the reaction will be charged for Charged Current (CC) interactions or neutral for Neutral Current (NC) interactions. Coherent scattering is the weak analog of exclusive neutral meson electroproduction for which considerable progress has been made in understanding the intermediate energy, small momentum transfer region by applying the Generalized Parton Distribution (GPD) phenomenology. The GPD perspective will be explained with emphasis on how the understanding gained from electroproduction of neutral pions can carry over to the neutrino processes.