Comparison of atmospheric neutrino flux calculations at low energies

Abstract

We compare several different calculations of the atmospheric neutrino flux in the energy range relevant for contained neutrino interactions, and we identify the major sources of difference among the calculations. We find nothing that would affect the predicted ratio of $\frac{{\ensuremath{\nu}}_{e}}{{\ensuremath{\nu}}_{\ensuremath{\mu}}}$, which is nearly the same in all calculations. Significant differences in normalization arise primarily from different treatments of pion production by interactions of protons in the atmosphere. Different assumptions about the primary spectrum and treatments of the geomagnetic field are also of some importance.