Solar neutrino experiments: Status and prospects

Solar neutrino experiments were originally conceived as a way to demonstrate that nuclear reactions are responsible for energy generation in stars. When solar neutrinos were first detected the measured flux was much less than what solar models predicted. The Solar Neutrino Problem thus came to be and it persisted for over thirty years. It is now known that the deficit in solar neutrinos (of electron neutrino flavour) was due to neutrino oscillations and that matter effects are important. Solar neutrino experiments played a key part in these discoveries and in recent developments in neutrino physics. This report summarizes Pontecorvo Neutrino Physics School lectures that explored the physics of solar neutrinos and the experiments that detected them. The lectures also included a look forward to future solar neutrino experiments and their physics goals and these are also discussed here.     

中微子振荡实验——超出标准模型的实验检验（Ⅰ）

文章总结了中微子振荡实验在历史和现状,介绍了几个太阳中微子丢失实验的结果和几个大气μ中微子丢失实验结果,这些结果表明存在中微子振荡,即中微子具有质量,它是超出标准模型的信号,文章还介绍了21世纪初研究中微子振荡和若干重要实验,噬基线中微子振荡实验以及建造μ子贮存环来产生高能电子中微子束进行中微子振荡的实验以及测量中微子振荡时的CP破坏的设想。     

Reconciling cold dark matter with COBE/IRAS plus solar and atmospheric neutrino data

We present a model where an unstable MeV Majorana tau neutrino can naturally reconcile the cold dark matter model (CDM) with cosmological observations of large and small scale density fluctuations and, simultaneously, with data on solar and atmospheric neutrinos. The solar neutrino deficit is explained through long wavelength, so-called just-so oscillations involving conversions of ν_e into both ν_μ and a sterile species ν_s , while atmospheric neutrino data are explained through ν_μ to ν_e conversions. Future long baseline neutrino oscillation experiments, as well as some reactor experiments will test this hypothesis. The model is based on the spontaneous violation of a global lepton number symmetry at the weak scale. This symmetry plays a key role in generating the cosmologically required decay of the ν_τ with lifetime τ_ντ ≈ 10²-10⁴ seconds, as well as the masses and oscillations of the three light neutrinos ν_e, ν_μ and ν_s required in order to account for solar and atmospheric neutrino data. It also leads to the invisibly decaying Higgs signature that can be searched at LEP and future particle colliders.     

Experimental techniques for low energy neutrino experiments

During the past years it has become always more and more important to study solar neutrinos at low energies (below 1 MeV) in order to solve the solar neutrino problem.Measuring low energy solar neutrinos is not an easy task because of the rapidly increasing background in the sub-MeV region. Thus new experimental methods have been developed to accomplish the challenging aim.     

A new three-flavor oscillation solution of the solar neutrino deficit in <Emphasis Type="Italic">R</Emphasis>-parity violating supersymmetry

We present a solution of the solar neutrino deficit using three flavors of neutrinos and R-parity non-conserving supersymmetry. In this model, in vacuum, the is massless and unmixed, mass and mixing being restricted to the - sector only, which we choose in consistency with the requirements of the atmospheric neutrino anomaly. The flavor changing and flavor diagonal neutral currents present in the model and the three-flavor picture together produce an energy dependent resonance-induced - mixing in the sun. This mixing plays a key role in the new solution to the solar neutrino problem. The best fit to the solar neutrino rates and spectrum (1258-day SK and 241-day SNO data) requires a mass square difference of eV² in vacuum between the two lightest neutrinos. This solution cannot accommodate a significant day-night effect for solar neutrinos nor CP violation in terrestrial neutrino experiments. Received: 26 December 2001 / Revised version: 16 February 2002 / Published online: 26 July 2002     

Suppression of self-induced flavor conversion in the supernova accretion phase

Self-induced flavor conversions of supernova (SN) neutrinos can strongly modify the flavor-dependent fluxes. We perform a linearized flavor stability analysis with accretion-phase matter profiles of a 15M[symbol: see text] spherically symmetric model and corresponding neutrino fluxes. We use realistic energy and angle distributions, the latter deviating strongly from quasi-isotropic emission, thus accounting for both multiangle and multienergy effects. For our matter and neutrino density profile we always find stable conditions: flavor conversions are limited to the usual Mikheyev-Smirnov-Wolfenstein effect. In this case one may distinguish the neutrino mass hierarchy in a SN neutrino signal if the mixing angle θ13 is as large as suggested by recent experiments.     

Neutrino oscillations as a probe of dark energy

We consider a class of theories in which neutrino masses depend significantly on environment, as a result of interactions with the dark sector. Such theories of mass varying neutrinos were recently introduced to explain the origin of the cosmological dark energy density and why its magnitude is apparently coincidental with that of neutrino mass splittings. In this Letter we argue that in such theories neutrinos can exhibit different masses in matter and in vacuum, dramatically affecting neutrino oscillations. As an example of modifications to the standard picture, we consider simple models that may simultaneously account for the LSND anomaly, KamLAND, K2K, and studies of solar and atmospheric neutrinos, while providing motivation to continue to search for neutrino oscillations in short baseline experiments such as BooNE.     

Solar mass-varying neutrino oscillations

We propose that the solar neutrino deficit may be due to oscillations of mass-varying neutrinos (MaVaNs). This scenario elucidates solar neutrino data beautifully while remaining comfortably compatible with atmospheric neutrino and K2K data and with reactor antineutrino data at short and long baselines (from CHOOZ and KamLAND). We find that the survival probability of solar MaVaNs is independent of how the suppression of neutrino mass caused by the acceleron-matter couplings varies with density. Measurements of MeV and lower energy solar neutrinos will provide a rigorous test of the idea.     

Dark matter neutrinos must come with degenerate masses

It has been known that there are two schemes in the framework of three flavor neutrinos to accommodate the global features of the hot dark matter neutrinos, the solar neutrino deficit and the atmospheric neutrino anomaly in a manner consistent with terreatrial neutrino experiments, i.e., hierarchical mass neutrinos and almost degenerate neutrinos. We deminstrate that the recent result by the CHOOZ experiment excludes the scheme of hierarchical neutrinos. We also point out in the scheme of almost degenerate neutrinos that if neutrinos are Majorana particles then the double β decay experiments must see positive signals on their way to reach a limit more stringent than the present one by a factor of 5.     

Physics prospects of the Jinping neutrino experiment

The China Jinping Underground Laboratory(CJPL), which has the lowest cosmic-ray muon flux and the lowest reactor neutrino flux of any laboratory, is ideal to carry out low-energy neutrino experiments. With two detectors and a total fiducial mass of 2000 tons for solar neutrino physics(equivalently, 3000 tons for geo-neutrino and supernova neutrino physics), the Jinping neutrino experiment will have the potential to identify the neutrinos from the CNO fusion cycles of the Sun, to cover the transition phase for the solar neutrino oscillation from vacuum to matter mixing, and to measure the geo-neutrino flux, including the Th/U ratio. These goals can be fulfilled with mature existing techniques. Efforts on increasing the target mass with multi-modular neutrino detectors and on developing the slow liquid scintillator will increase the Jinping discovery potential in the study of solar neutrinos,geo-neutrinos, supernova neutrinos, and dark matter.     

Nuclear Responses for Neutrinos and Mo Observatory of Neutrinos

Nuclear responses for neutrinos and neutrino studies in Mo nuclei are briefly reported. Nuclear spin-isospin responses for neutrinos are crucial for neutrino studies in nuclei. Spin-isospin responses for solar neutrinos, supernova neutrinos and neutrinos involved in double-beta decays are discussed. It is of great interest to study neutrino masses and low energy solar neutrinos. It is shown that it is possible to carry out with ¹⁰⁰Mo both spectroscopic studies of double-beta decays with the sensitivity of the order of m 0.03eV and real-time exclusive studies of the low energy solar neutrinos.     

The status of the study of solar CNO neutrinos in the Borexino experiment

Although less than 1% of solar energy is generated in the CNO cycle, it plays a critical role in astrophysics, since this cycle is the primary source of energy in certain more massive stars and at later stages of evolution of solar-type stars. Electron neutrinos are produced in the CNO cycle reactions. These neutrinos may be detected by terrestrial neutrino detectors. Various solar models with different abundances of elements heavier than helium predict different CNO neutrino fluxes. A direct measurement of the CNO neutrino flux could help distinguish between these models and solve several other astrophysical problems. No CNO neutrinos have been detected directly thus far, and the best upper limit on their flux was set in the Borexino experiment. The work on reducing the background in the region of energies of CNO neutrinos (up to 1.74 MeV) and developing novel data analysis methods is presently under way. These efforts may help detect the CNO neutrino flux in the Borexino experiment at the level predicted by solar models.     

Solar neutrino spectroscopy

Since the pioneering experiment of R. Davis et al., which started neutrino astronomy by measuring the solar neutrinos via the inverse beta decay reaction on ³⁷Cl, all solar neutrino experiments find a considerably lower flux than expected by standard solar models. This finding is generally called the solar neutrino problem. Many attempts have been made to explain this result by altering the solar models, or assuming different nuclear cross sections for fusion processes assumed to be the energy sources in the sun.There have been performed numerous experiments recently to investigate the different possibilities to explain the solar neutrino problem. These experiments covered solar physics with helioseismology, nuclear cross section measurements, and solar neutrino experiments.Up to now no convincing explanation based on “standard” physics was suggested. However, assuming nonstandard neutrino properties, i.e. neutrino masses and mixing as expected in most extensions of the standard theory of elementary particle physics, natural solutions for the solar neutrino problem can be found.It appears that with this newly invented neutrino astronomy fundamental information on astrophysics as well as elementary particle physics are tested uniquely. In this contribution an attempt is made to review the situation of the neutrino astronomy for solar neutrino spectroscopy and discuss the future prospects in this field.     

Does the sun shine by pp or CNO fusion reactions?

We show that solar neutrino experiments set an upper limit of 7.8% (7.3% including the recent KamLAND measurements) to the fraction of energy that the Sun produces via the CNO fusion cycle, which is an order of magnitude improvement upon the previous limit. New experiments are required to detect CNO neutrinos corresponding to the 1.5% of the solar luminosity that the standard solar model predicts is generated by the CNO cycle.     

Possible tests of neutrino maximal mixing and comments on matter effects

We show in a simple and general way that matter effects do not contribute to the average value of the transition probabilities of solar ν_e's into other states in the case of maximal mixing of any number of massive neutrinos. We also show that future solar neutrino experiments (Super-Kamiokande and SNO) will allow to test the model with maximal mixing of three massive neutrinos in a way that does not depend on the initial solar neutrino flux.     

Sterile neutrinos and future solar neutrino experiments

It is shown that future solar neutrino experiments (SNO, Super-Kamiokande and others), in which high energy neutrinos will be detected (mostly from ⁸B decay), may allow to answer in a model independent way the question whether there are transitions of solar v_e's into sterile states. No assumptions about the initial flux of ⁸B neutrinos are made. Lower bounds for the probability of transition of solar v_e's into all sterile states are derived and expressed through measurable quantities.     

The Solar Neutrino Problem as Evidence of New Interaction

A new concept to solve the solar neutrino problem that is based on the hypothesis about the existence of a new interaction of electron neutrinos with nucleons mediated by massless pseudoscalar bosons is proposed. At each collision of a neutrino with nucleons of the Sun, its helicity changes from left- to right-handed and vice versa, and its energy decreases. The postulated hypothesis, having only one free parameter, provides good agreement between the calculated and experimental characteristics of all five observed processes with solar neutrinos.     

Discovery of atmospheric neutrino oscillations**

Atmospheric neutrinos are produced by cosmic ray interactions in the atmosphere. The zenith‐angle and energy dependence of the muon‐ and electron‐ neutrino events are observed in atmospheric neutrino experiments. Through these studies neutrino oscillations were discovered. In this article, studies of atmospheric neutrinos in the Kamiokande and Super‐Kamiokande experiments are described.     

The Earth effects on the supernova neutrino spectra

The Earth effects on the energy spectra of supernova neutrinos are studied. We analyze numerically the time-integrated energy spectra of neutrino in a mantle–core–mantle step function model of the Earth's matter density profile. We consider a realistic frame-work in which there are three active neutrinos whose mass squared differences and mixings are constrained by the present understanding of solar and atmospheric neutrinos. We find that the energy spectra change for some allowed mixing parameters. Especially, the expected number of events at SNO shows characteristic behavior with respect to energy, i.e., a great dip and peak. We show that observations of the Earth effect allow us to identify the solar neutrino solution and to probe the mixing angle θ₂.