We study the sensitivity of neutral-current neutrino-nucleus scattering to the strange-quark content of the axial-vector form factor of the nucleon. A model-independent formalism for this reaction is developed in terms of eight nuclear-structure functions. Taking advantage of the insensitivity of the ratio of proton $(\nu ,p)$ to neutron $(\nu ,n)$ yields to distortion effects, we compute all structure functions in a relativistic plane-wave impulse approximation approach. Further, by employing the notion of a bound-state nucleon propagator, closed-form, analytic expressions for all nuclear-structure functions are developed in terms of an accurately calibrated relativistic mean-field model. Using a strange-quark contribution to the axial-vector form factor of $g_A^s=-0.19$, a significant enhancement in the proton-to-neutron yields is observed relative to one with $g_A^s=0$.

• Received 17 October 2003

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.69.035501