• Accepted Paper

Theory of inverse beta decay for reactor antineutrinos

Oleksandr Tomalak, Qishan Liu, and Yu-Feng Li

Phys. Rev. D - Accepted 15 June, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/9nbs-dflc

Abstract

Inverse beta decay (IBD), ν¯epe+n(γ), is the main detection channel for reactor antineutrinos in water- and hydrocarbon-based detectors. As reactor antineutrino experiments now target sub-percent-level sensitivity to oscillation parameters, a precise theoretical description of IBD, including recoil, weak magnetism, nucleon structure, and radiative corrections, becomes essential. In this work, we give a detailed and precise calculation of the total and differential cross sections for radiative IBD, ν¯epe+nγ. We use a heavy baryon chiral perturbation theory framework, systematically incorporating electroweak, electromagnetic, and strong-interaction corrections. We derive new analytic cross-section expressions, clarify the collinear structure of radiative corrections, and provide a systematic uncertainty analysis. We also discuss phenomenological applications for reactor antineutrino experiments, e.g., JUNO, and neutron decay. Our results enable sub-permille theoretical precision, supporting current and future experiments.

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