https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-018-5925-7
Regular Article - Experimental Physics
Sensitivity of a low threshold directional detector to CNO-cycle solar neutrinos
1
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720-8153, USA
2
University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720-7300, USA
* e-mail: rbonventre@lbl.gov
Received:
19
March
2018
Accepted:
21
May
2018
Published online:
31
May
2018
A first measurement of neutrinos from the CNO fusion cycle in the Sun would allow a resolution to the current solar metallicity problem. Detection of these low-energy neutrinos requires a low-threshold detector, while discrimination from radioactive backgrounds in the region of interest is significantly enhanced via directional sensitivity. This combination can be achieved in a water-based liquid scintillator target, which offers enhanced energy resolution beyond a standard water Cherenkov detector. We study the sensitivity of such a detector to CNO neutrinos under various detector and background scenarios, and draw conclusions about the requirements for such a detector to successfully measure the CNO neutrino flux. A detector designed to measure CNO neutrinos could also achieve a few-percent measurement of pep neutrinos.
© The Author(s), 2018
