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.     

Direct measurement of the 7Be solar neutrino flux with 192 days of borexino data

We report the direct measurement of the 7Be solar neutrino signal rate performed with the Borexino detector at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso. The interaction rate of the 0.862 MeV 7Be neutrinos is 49+/-3stat+/-4syst counts/(day.100 ton). The hypothesis of no oscillation for 7Be solar neutrinos is inconsistent with our measurement at the 4sigma C.L. Our result is the first direct measurement of the survival probability for solar nu(e) in the transition region between matter-enhanced and vacuum-driven oscillations. The measurement improves the experimental determination of the flux of 7Be, pp, and CNO solar nu(e), and the limit on the effective neutrino magnetic moment using solar neutrinos.     

First evidence of pep solar neutrinos by direct detection in Borexino

We observed, for the first time, solar neutrinos in the 1.0-1.5 MeV energy range. We determined the rate of pep solar neutrino interactions in Borexino to be 3.1±0.6{stat}±0.3{syst} counts/(day·100 ton). Assuming the pep neutrino flux predicted by the standard solar model, we obtained a constraint on the CNO solar neutrino interaction rate of <7.9 counts/(day·100 ton) (95% C.L.). The absence of the solar neutrino signal is disfavored at 99.97% C.L., while the absence of the pep signal is disfavored at 98% C.L. The necessary sensitivity was achieved by adopting data analysis techniques for the rejection of cosmogenic {11}C, the dominant background in the 1-2 MeV region. Assuming the Mikheyev-Smirnov-Wolfenstein large mixing angle solution to solar neutrino oscillations, these values correspond to solar neutrino fluxes of (1.6±0.3)×10{8} cm{-2}?s^{-1} and <7.7×10{8} cm{-2}?s{-1} (95% C.L.), respectively, in agreement with both the high and low metallicity standard solar models. These results represent the first direct evidence of the pep neutrino signal and the strongest constraint of the CNO solar neutrino flux to date.     

Lithium experiment on solar neutrinos to weight the CNO cycle

The measurement of the flux of beryllium neutrinos with an accuracy of about 10% and CNO neutrinos with an accuracy of 20–30% will enable one to find the flux of pp neutrinos in the source with an accuracy better than 1% using the luminosity constraint. The future experiments on νe^? scattering will enable one to measure with very good accuracy the flux of beryllium and pp neutrinos on the Earth. The ratio of the flux of pp neutrinos on the Earth and in the source will enable one to find with very good accuracy a mixing angle θ_⊙. A lithium detector has high sensitivity to CNO neutrinos and can find the contribution of the CNO cycle to the energy generated in the Sun. This will be a stringent test of the theory of stellar evolution and combined with other experiments will provide a precise determination of the flux of pp neutrinos in the source and a mixing angle θ_⊙. The work on the development of the technology of a lithium experiment is now in progress.     

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.     

Detector lens as a new tool for solar neutrino spectroscopy

The LENS detector is a ν _e-flavor real-time detector for measurement of low-energy solar neutrino flux and spectral shape, specifying the pp and ⁷Be neutrinos individually. It will complement future low-energy neutrino experiments (BOREXINO, HELLAZ, GENIUS), all of which are scattering experiments. The main goal of the LENS collaboration is to develop final formulation of Yb-and In-loaded liquid scintillators and to build a prototype of suitable volume to study the backgrounds and detector performance.     

What do we (not) know theoretically about solar neutrino fluxes?

Solar model predictions of 8B and p-p neutrinos agree with the experimentally determined fluxes (including oscillations): phi(pp)(measured)=(1.02+/-00.02+/-0.01)phi(pp)(theory) and phi(8B)(measured)=(0.88+/-0.04+/-0.23)phi(8B)(theory), 1sigma experimental and theoretical uncertainties, respectively. We use improved input data for nuclear fusion reactions, the equation of state, and the chemical composition of the Sun. The solar composition is the dominant uncertainty in calculating the 8B and CNO neutrino fluxes; the cross section for the 3He(4He,gamma)7Be reaction is the most important uncertainty for the calculated 7Be neutrino flux.     

A step toward CNO solar neutrino detection in liquid scintillators

The detection of CNO solar neutrinos in ultrapure liquid scintillator detectors is limited by the background produced by bismuth-210 nuclei that undergo β-decay to polonium-210 with a lifetime of ∼7 days. Polonium-210 nuclei are unstable and decay with a lifetime equal to ∼200 days emitting α particles that can be also detected. In this Letter, we show that the Bi-210 background can be determined by looking at the time evolution of α-decay rate of Po-210, provided that α particle detection efficiency is stable over the data acquisition period and external sources of Po-210 are negligible. A sufficient accuracy can be obtained in a relatively short time. As an example, if the initial Po-210 event rate is ∼2000 cpd/100 ton or lower, a Borexino-like detector could start discerning CNO neutrino signal from Bi-210 background in Δt∼1 yr.     

Method for recording of solar neutrinos with a lithium detector

A method for solar neutrino recording on a laboratory bench with a lithium detector is developed. The efficiency of extraction of beryllium from lithium as high as 96.4% is achieved, and it is shown that lithium extraction losses are less than 1%. The results of a full-scale experiment with a 10-t lithium detector consisting of 20 500-kg modules are presented. Technical solutions based on the experimental results open the way to designing a pilot facility intended for 500 kg of lithium.     

Precision measurement of the (7)Be solar neutrino interaction rate in Borexino

The rate of neutrino-electron elastic scattering interactions from 862 keV (7)Be solar neutrinos in Borexino is determined to be 46.0±1.5(stat)(-1.6)(+1.5)(syst)?counts/(day·100 ton). This corresponds to a ν(e)-equivalent (7)Be solar neutrino flux of (3.10±0.15)×10(9) cm(-2)?s(-1) and, under the assumption of ν(e) transition to other active neutrino flavours, yields an electron neutrino survival probability of 0.51±0.07 at 862 keV. The no flavor change hypothesis is ruled out at 5.0?σ. A global solar neutrino analysis with free fluxes determines Φ(pp)=6.06(-0.06)(+0.02)×10(10) cm(-2)?s(-1) and Φ(CNO)<1.3×10(9) cm(-2)?s(-1) (95% C.L.). These results significantly improve the precision with which the Mikheyev-Smirnov-Wolfenstein large mixing angle neutrino oscillation model is experimentally tested at low energy.     

On the possibility of detecting solar <Emphasis Type="Italic">pp</Emphasis> neutrino with the large-volume liquid organic scintillator detector

It is shown that a large-volume liquid organic scintillator detector with an energy resolution of 10 keV at 200 keV (1σ) will be sensitive to solar pp neutrinos, if operated at the target radiopurity levels for the Borexino detector or the solar neutrino project of KamLAND.     

Independent measurement of the total active 8B solar neutrino flux using an array of 3He proportional counters at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory

The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) used an array of 3He proportional counters to measure the rate of neutral-current interactions in heavy water and precisely determined the total active (nu_x) 8B solar neutrino flux. This technique is independent of previous methods employed by SNO. The total flux is found to be 5.54_-0.31;+0.33(stat)-0.34+0.36(syst)x10(6) cm(-2) s(-1), in agreement with previous measurements and standard solar models. A global analysis of solar and reactor neutrino results yields Deltam2=7.59_-0.21;+0.19x10(-5) eV2 and theta=34.4_-1.2;+1.3 degrees. The uncertainty on the mixing angle has been reduced from SNO's previous results.     

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.     

A lithium experiment in the program of solar neutrino research

Experiments sensitive to pp neutrinos from the Sun are very promising for precise measurement of the mixing angle ϑ ₁₂. A νe ⁻ scattering experiment (XMASS) and/or a charged-current experiment (indium detector) can measure the flux of electron pp neutrinos. One can find the total flux of pp neutrinos from a luminosity constraint after the contributions of ⁷Be and CNO neutrinos to the total luminosity of the Sun are measured. A radiochemical experiment utilizing a lithium target has high sensitivity to the CNO neutrinos; thus, it has a good promise for precise measurement of the mixing angle and for a test of the current theory of evolution of the stars. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Borexino and its physics program

Borexino, a real-time detector for low energy neutrino spectroscopy is under construction in the underground laboratory LNGS at GranSasso, Italy. The experiment aims for the first direct measurement of the solar ⁷Beneutrino flux.     

An effective lower bound of the solar neutrino flux

If the deficit of the solar neutrino (ν_e) flux is caused by the neutrino oscillation, there exists a lower bound of an effective neutrino flux detectable by electron scattering experiment, since the converted neutrino can also interact with atomic electron via neutral current effect. The effective reduction factor and day-night asymmetry for the ⁸B flux is calculated and plotted in the mixing parameter space, when matter oscillation effects both in the sun and in the earth are included, yielding a lower flux bound, ∼ 14% of the standard value.     

Solar neutrinos. Astrophysical aspects

This paper is a short pedagogical introduction to some aspects of the solar neutrino problem. The basic attention is concentrated on a qualitative consideration of the pp and CNO reactions responsible for hydrogen burning in the Sun, starting from an elementary derivation of the formula for the non-resonant thermonuclear reaction rate. We outline the physical content of the standard solar models, the problem of chemical composition of the Sun, expected neutrino energy spectrum, radial distributions of the neutrino fluxes in the Sun, and uncertainties in the predicted neutrino event rates.     

Precise determination of the unperturbed 8B neutrino spectrum

A measurement of the final state distribution of the (8)B β decay, obtained by implanting a (8)B beam in a double-sided silicon strip detector, is reported here. The present spectrum is consistent with a recent independent precise measurement performed by our collaboration at the IGISOL facility, Jyv?skyl? [O. S. Kirsebom et al., Phys. Rev. C 83, 065802 (2011)]. It shows discrepancies with previously measured spectra, leading to differences in the derived neutrino spectrum. Thanks to a low detection threshold, the neutrino spectrum is for the first time directly extracted from the measured final state distribution, thus avoiding the uncertainties related to the extrapolation of R-matrix fits. Combined with the IGISOL data, this leads to an improvement of the overall errors and the extension of the neutrino spectrum at high energy. The new unperturbed neutrino spectrum represents a benchmark for future measurements of the solar neutrino flux as a function of energy.     

Limits on neutrino emission from gamma-ray bursts with the 40 string IceCube detector

IceCube has become the first neutrino telescope with a sensitivity below the TeV neutrino flux predicted from gamma-ray bursts if gamma-ray bursts are responsible for the observed cosmic-ray flux above 10(18) eV. Two separate analyses using the half-complete IceCube detector, one a dedicated search for neutrinos from pγ interactions in the prompt phase of the gamma-ray burst fireball and the other a generic search for any neutrino emission from these sources over a wide range of energies and emission times, produced no evidence for neutrino emission, excluding prevailing models at 90% confidence.     

Search for nu(e) from the sun at Super-Kamiokande-I

We present the results of a search for low energy nu(e) from the Sun using 1496 days of data from Super-Kamiokande-I. We observe no significant excess of events and set an upper limit for the conversion probability to nu(e) of the 8B solar neutrino. This conversion limit is 0.8% (90% C.L.) of the standard solar model's neutrino flux for total energy=8-20 MeV. We also set a flux limit for monochromatic nu(e) for E(nu(e))=10-17 MeV.