Effect of cross-section models on the validity of sterile neutrino mixing limits

Charged-Current Quasi-Elastic (CCQE) neutrino scattering is the signal channel for sterile neutrino oscillation experiments. Recent cross-section measurements have made it clear that the current understanding of this channel in the few-GeV region is incomplete, and several sophisticated theoretical models have been proposed to tackle this issue, although it is not clear which model best describes the global dataset. In this paper we argue that the current uncertainty surrounding CCQE cross-sections is a serious problem for experiments seeking to produce sterile neutrino limits. We perform a sterile neutrino analysis with published MINERvA data as an illustrative example. We highlight the need for caution in interpreting sterile neutrino limits given the context of incomplete cross-section model information.