Excorcising Ghosts , In Pursuit of the Missing Solar Neutrinos

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xorcising Ghosts able I. Summary of Pioneering Solar-Neutrino Experiments SAGE + GALLEX Chlorine Kamiokande Target Material 71Ga 37Cl H2O Reaction e + 71Ga → 71Ge + e e 37Cl → 37Ar e e → e Detection Method Radiochemical Radiochemical Cerenkov Detection Threshold 0.234 MeV 0.814 MeV 7.0 MeV Neutrinos Detected All 7Be and 8B 8B Predicted Rate 132 7 SNU * 9 1 SNU 5.7 0.8 flux units ** Observed Rate 74 8 SNU 2.5 0.2 SNU 2.9 0.4 flux units * 1 SNU = 10 –36 captures per target atom per second. ** In units of 10 6 neutrinos per square centimeter per second. ach column summarizes an experiment and compares the predicted rate of neutrino interactions (based on the Bahcallinsonneault standard solar model) to the observed rate. The radiochemical experiments report their results in SNU, a convenient nit that facilitates comparison between experiments. Kamiokande reports results in flux units. Every experiment shows a significant eficit in the observed versus the predicted rate. able II. Breakdown of the Predicted Rate by Neutrino-Producing Reaction Neutrino Reaction SAGE + GALLEX Chlorine Kamiokande pp 70 SNU 0 SNU 0 pep 3 SNU 0.2 SNU 0 7 Be 38 SNU 1.2 SNU 0 8 B 16 SNU 7.4 SNU 5.7 CNO 10 SNU 0.5 SNU 0 otal Predicted Rate 132 7 SNU 9 1 SNU 5.7 0.8 Observed Rate 74 8 SNU 2.5 0.2 SNU 2.9 0.4 1.0 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 Observed pep CNO 7 Be 8 B pp Observed pep CNO 7 Be 8 B Based on the standard solar model, the total predicted rate of neutrino events can be broken down into contributions from each of the neutrino-producing reactions in the Sun. This information is listed in each column (rounded to the nearest SNU) and is displayed as a bar graph. (The bars corresponding to the total predicted rate have been normalized to 1.) Each colored segment within a bar corresponds to a specific reaction. Kamiokande observed approximately half of the expected flux of 8B neutrinos. All the neutrinos detected by the chlorine experiment can likewise come from the 8B reaction. The solar luminosity essentially fixes the rate of pp neutrinos that SAGE and GALLEX must see. Those experiments are consistent with an observation of the full pp flux plus some of the 8B flux. Taken together, the experiments indicate that the solar-neutrino deficit results from a lack of intermediate-energy (CNO, 7Be, and pep) neutrinos. 42 Los Alamos Science Number 25 1997 Observed 8 B Figure 3. The Modern Solar-Neutrino Problem Source of Neutrinos / SSM pp 1 7 Be 0 8 B 0.4 shown in Figure 3. Compared with the solar-model predictions, the pp neutrino flux, with a maximum neutrino energy of 0.42 MeV, seems to be present in full strength. The intermediate-energy 7 Be neutrinos, however, seem to be missing entirely, while only 40 percent of the high-energy 8 B neutrinos are observed. This energy-dependent suppression of the solar-neutrino spectrum establishes what we now refer to as the modern solar-neutrino problem. It is particularly puzzling given the apparent lack of 7 Be neutrinos. At a glance, this might imply that 7 Be is not being produced in the sun. But those nuclei are needed to produce 8 B (refer to Number 25 1997 Los Alamos Science Figure 1). Hence, if there are no 7 Be neutrinos, why are any 8 B neutrinos observed? While modifications to the solar models have been attempted by many authors, it appears extremely difficult to render an astrophysical explanation that would solve this puzzle. As seen in Figure 3, no model has successfully reduced the 7 Be flux without reducing the 8 B flux even more! However, this pattern for the solarneutrino spectrum is perfectly explained by the mechanism of matter-enhanced neutrino oscillations, or the MSW effect. (See the article “MSW” on page 156. ) MSW suggests that the probability for neutrino oscillations to occur in vacuo can be augmented in an energy- Exorcising Ghosts One can deduce how the theoretical neutrino flux needs to be distorted in order to match the experimental results. In their analysis, Hata and Langacker (1994) constructed an arbitrary solar model in which the neutrino fluxes are allowed to vary freely instead of being tied to nuclear physics or to astrophysics. The only constraint is the one imposed by the solar luminosity, namely, that the sum of the pp, 7Be, and CNO fluxes roughly equals 6.57 10 10 neutrinos per square centimeter per second (the total neutrino flux). The model is then “fit” to the combined data from all experiments. φ( 8 B)/φ( 8 B) SSM 1.0 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 Combined fit 90% C.L. SSM 90% C.L. 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 T c φ( 7 Be)/φ( 7 Be) SSM The model that best fits the data is one in which the pp flux is identical with the standard-solar-model (SSM) prediction, the 7Be flux is nearly absent, and the 8B flux is only 40 percent of the SSM prediction. These results are presented in the table (left) as the ratio of , the flux derived from the combined fit, to SSM , which is the neutrino flux predicted by the SSM. The 90 percent confidence level for the combined fit is shown in blue on this graph of 8B flux versus 7Be flux (each normalized to the SSM predictions). The 90 percent confidence level for the Bahcall-Pinsonneault SSM is shown at the upper right-hand corner. Filling that contour are the results of 1,000 Monte Carlo simulations (green dots) that vary the parameters of the SSM. The square markers indicate the results of numerous nonstandard solar models, which include, for example, variations in reaction cross sections, reduced heavy-element abundances, reduced opacity models, and even weakly interacting massive particles. Most of the models call for a power law relation between the 8B and 7Be fluxes (the curve labeled Tc ). As the figure shows, the SSM and all nonstandard models are completely at odds with the best fit to the combined experimental results. dependent, resonant fashion when neutrinos travel through dense matter. The muon or tau neutrinos would not be detected in the existing experiments on Earth, and hence a deficit would be seen in the solar-neutrino flux. For suitable choices of neutrino masses and mixing angles, experiments would measure the full, predicted flux of pp neutrinos, the 7 Be flux would be highly suppressed, and the measured flux of 8 B neutrinos would be reduced to 40 percent! (See Figure 4.) Have three decades of solar-neutrino research culminated in the discovery of neutrino mass? Our interpretation of the modern solar-neutrino problem relies upon our confidence that the standard
xorcising Ghosts Probability at Earth P MSW (ν e ν e ) 1.0 0.5 pp 0.0 0.1 1.0 Neutrino Energy (MeV) 10.0 olar model correctly predicts the solareutrino spectrum and that the existing xperimental results are accurate. Given he implications of massive neutrinos or elementary particle physics, strophysics, and cosmology, it is f paramount importance to confirm he solar-neutrino problem and to test he hypothesis of neutrino oscillations. hus, while theorists continue to nalyze and refine the solar models, xperimentalists are moving forward with the next generation of experiments. The super-Kamiokande experiment, 7 Be pep m2 = sin2 5 x 10 2 = 0.007 6 igure 4. Energy-Dependent Survival Probability for Solar Neutrinos he MSW effect predicts that the energy spectrum of the Sun’s electron neutrinos ould be distorted from standard-solar-model predictions. Because of their chargedurrent interactions with electrons, electron neutrinos can acquire an effective mass hen they pass through dense matter. If that effective mass becomes as large as the trinsic mass of a muon or tau neutrino, the electron neutrino can resonantly transorm into another flavor. The spectrum becomes distorted. The MSW survival robability PMSW (e → e ) that an electron neutrino remains an electron neutrino epends on the neutrino mass difference (m2 ), the mixing angle between the fferent neutrino flavors, the neutrino energy, the electron density in the material, nd the strength of the interaction between electron neutrinos and electrons. Given he Sun’s density profile, the chosen values for m2 and sin22 will yield a survival robability that distorts the predicted solar-neutrino energy spectrum for best greement with the measured flux. The result is the red curve, which has been uperimposed over a simplified picture of the solar-neutrino spectrum. The pp flux unaffected, but the 7Be and pep fluxes have almost no probability of surviving. oughly 40 percent of the 8B neutrino flux survives. a 50,000-ton water-filled Cerenkov detector, is currently up and running. Because of its immense size, this detector accumulates in one day more data than its predecessor Kamiokande was capable of providing in one month! It has collected a significant amount of data on the high-energy region of the 8 B neutrino flux and has confirmed the results of Kamiokande. Complementing that experiment is BOREXINO, an experiment that is still in its planning stages. The proposal calls for a detector to be situated in the Gran Sasso tunnel in Italy. Like super- Kamiokande, BOREXINO exploits the scattering of neutrinos from electrons in the target material, but unlike super- Kamiokande, it will use a liquid scintillator instead of water as the neutrino target. This allows for a much lower energy threshold so that the experiment will be highly sensitive to the 7 Be neutrinos. Because of the inherent energy resolution of its detector, BOREXINO should be able to focus on and isolate the 7 Be neutrino flux and thus allow scientists to deduce, independently, whether that branch is indeed missing from the solar-neutrino spectrum. But it is fitting at this point to reemphasize that the Sun is energetic enough to produce only electron neutrinos and that the pioneering experiments were sensitive only to electron neutrinos. Deductions about neutrino oscillations came about only because the measured electron neutrino flux was found lacking when compared with the predictions of the standard solar model. The ideal experiment would not have to rely on a model to allow data interpretation. Such an experiment would independently measure the electron neutrino flux and the total neutrino flux (electron, muon, and tau neutrinos). Independent measurement of the latter is perhaps the “Holy Grail” of solar-neutrino experiments. If electron neutrinos are experiencing flavor transitions into other states, then the electron neutrino flux would be observed to be lower than the total flux, and the neutrino oscillation hypothesis would be tested in a model-independent fashion. Such an experiment forms the motivation for establishing the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory. 1 44 Los Alamos Science Number 25 1997 8 B 1 In principle, super-Kamiokande is also sensitive to all neutrino flavors via the neutral-current channel of elastic scattering. The neutral- and charged-current signals, however, are identical and cannot be distinguished from each other. Experimenters cannot analyze the data and deduce that they have seen muon or tau neutrinos from the Sun, unless they compare their measured flux with one predicted by the solar model. The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) SNO is a next-generation, real-time experiment that is designed to make independent measurements of (1) the flux and energy spectrum of 8 B electron neutrinos reaching the earth and (2) the total integrated flux of all 8 B neutrinos that reach the earth. These goals can be met because the water Cerenkov detector that is at the heart of SNO will be filled with a unique neutrino target consisting entirely of “heavy” water. A heavy-water molecule has two deuterium atoms bonded to an oxygen atom (D 2 O rather than H 2 O). The deuterium nucleus—the deuteron—is a heavy isotope of hydrogen that consists of a bound proton and neutron. Thus, heavy water is chemically identical to ordinary “light” water (H 2 O), and the SNO detector functions very much like the light-water Cerenkov detector used by Kamiokande and, later, super- Kamiokande. But the signal from a light-water Cerenkov detector derives solely from the elastic scattering of neutrinos with electrons. The heavy water in the SNO detector also allows for neutrino interactions with the nucleons making up the deuterium nucleus. And crucial to the SNO experiment, deuterium responds in different ways to charged- and neutral-current interactions (see Figure 5). When the deuteron (D) interacts with electron neutrinos through the charged-current exchange of a W boson, the neutron transforms into a proton, and a relativistic electron is emitted. The newly created nucleus contains two protons. These repel each other and break the nucleus apart: e D → p p e . (4) The protons do not recoil with sufficient energy to create a signal in the detector, but the electron produces Cerenkov radiation as it zips through the heavy water. The energy and direction of the electron neutrino can be Number 25 1997 Los Alamos Science (a) Charged-Current Interaction e D → p p e (b) Neutral-Current Interaction i D → p n i i e, , Figure 5. Neutrino Interactions in SNO extracted from that Cerenkov signal. The neutral-current interaction, however, causes the deuteron to disintegrate without any change in particle identity. An exchange of a Z 0 boson transfers energy into the deuteron, which breaks into a proton and a neutron: D → p n . (5) Reaction (5) occurs with equal probability for any flavor of neutrino whose Exorcising Ghosts (a) The charged-current weak interaction in SNO proceeds only with electron neutrinos e . The neutrino is transformed into an electron e as it exchanges a W boson with one of the two down quarks d making up the neutron (udd quark combination). The quark is transformed into an up quark u, thus creating a proton (uud). The proton originally present in the deuteron does not participate in the interaction; it is merely a spectator. The unstable diproton system instantly breaks apart, so that the deuteron appears to disintegrate into two free protons and a relativistic electron. That electron is the signature of the reaction. (b) The neutral-current interaction can proceed with a neutrino of any flavor. The neutrino scatters from one of the quarks in either nucleon (proton or neutron) through the exchange of a Z0 boson. Energy is transferred to the entire nucleon. If the energy transfer is greater than the 2.22 MeV nuclear binding energy, the deuteron breaks apart. The unbound neutron is the signature of the neutral-current interaction. d du u ud e Deuteron i d du u ud Deuteron Neutron Neutron Proton Proton W + Z 0 e Proton Proton energy is above the 2.22-MeV binding energy of the deuteron. Detecting the free neutron is the key to observing this reaction, and techniques for extracting that signal will be discussed later. The main point to appreciate is that SNO can detect all neutrinos (regardless of flavor) and the electron neutrinos in two independent measurements. A comparison of the two fluxes will provide a definitive test of the i u du + Neutron d du + u ud u ud Proton
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Excorcising Ghosts , In Pursuit of the Missing Solar Neutrinos

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