The prospects of extracting new physics signals in a coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CEvNS) process are limited by the precision with which the underlying nuclear structure physics, embedded in the weak nuclear form factor, is known. In this talk, I will present a microscopic nuclear structure physics calculations of charge and weak nuclear form factors and CEvNS cross sections on $^{12}$C, $^{16}$O, $^{40}$Ar, $^{56}$Fe and $^{208}$Pb nuclei. We obtain the proton and neutron densities, and charge and weak form factors by solving Hartree-Fock equations with a Skyrme (SkE2) nuclear potential. We validate our approach by comparing $^{208}$Pb and $^{40}$Ar charge form factor predictions with elastic electron scattering data. In view of the  worldwide interest in liquid-argon based neutrino and dark matter experiments, we pay special attention to the $^{40}$Ar nucleus and make predictions for the $^{40}$Ar weak form factor and the CEvNS cross sections. Furthermore, we attempt to gauge the level of theoretical uncertainty pertaining to the description of the  $^{40}$Ar form factor and CEvNS cross sections by comparing relative differences between recent microscopic nuclear theory and widely-used phenomenological form factor predictions. Future precision measurements of CEvNS will potentially help in constraining these nuclear structure details that will in turn improve prospects of extracting new physics.

Meeting Recording:

https://uky.zoom.us/rec/share/ZkcbmliDrhnIXavjXD1UTBkfCtW8-uafidls0yXTp…