A Comparison of Charged Current Cross Sections and Structure Functions for Neutrino and Antineutrino Beams on Hydrogen and Neon

Abstract Using BEBC equipped with a hydrogen-filled neon-surrounded track-sensitive target, the charged current cross sections and structure functions of hydrogen and neon targets traversed by the same neutrinos and antineutrinos are compared directly. The measured total cross-section ratios between hydrogen and neon allow precise total cross-section values for hydrogen to be inferred. Using this normalization, the ν and ν hydrogen data are combined and the quark distributions in free nucleons, parametrised as functions of ξ, are extracted. This free-nucleon parametrisation is then compared directly with the neon data in order to measure nuclear effects such as those recently reported by the EMC collaboration. Only small effects are seen, in excellent agreement with recent SLAC data in a more similar A and q 2 range.