Extraction of the axial mass parameter from MiniBooNE neutrino quasielastic double differential cross-section data

The recently published [A. A. Aguilar-Arevalo (MiniBooNE Collaboration), Phys. Rev. D 81, 092005 (2010)] MiniBooNE charge current quasielastic double differential cross-section data are analyzed and compared with simulations based on two nuclear models: Fermi gas model and spectral function model. In both cases the axial mass parametr MA is obtained from a fitting procedure which takes into account the multiplicative factor in the uncertainty of the flux. Bins with large ($>50%$) contribution from events with small momentum transfer (q<qcut) are eliminated from the analysis. More restrictive cuts result in smaller fitted MA values. The qcut=500 MeV/c leads to the value of MA=1350±66 MeV in the Fermi gas model and MA=1343±60 MeV in the spectral function model. In both cases the value of MA=1030 MeV is excluded at the confidence level greater than 5σ.