Real-time experiments: Survey of Kamiokande, SNO, and SuperKamiokande
- Los Alamos National Laboratory, NM (United States)
The study of solar neutrinos was revolutionized by the demonstration that a large water Cerenkov detector, Kamiokande, could operate with such a low threshold and background that solar neutrinos could be detected. Like the Homestake Cl-Ar experiment, Kamiokande found a lower flux than expected, and at the same time made it clear that active, electronic solar neutrino experiments were possible and offered significant new capabilities. SuperKamiokande, now under construction in Japan, will be immense, with a total mass of 50,000 tonnes of light water, and will provide high-statistics data, 23 events per day, on the neutrino-electron scattering reaction. The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) being built in Canada will also be a Cerenkov detector, but will make use of 1000 tonnes of heavy water as a fiducial mass surrounded by 7000 tonnes of light water. Two new reactions can be observed with heavy water, the inverse beta decay of the deuteron by the charged-current interaction of electron neutrinos, and the neutral-current breakup of the deuteron. Comparison of the data from the 3 reactions should lead to an unambiguous resolution of the solar neutrino problem by 1997.
- OSTI ID:
- 386933
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-931044--
- Journal Information:
- Bulletin of the American Physical Society, Journal Name: Bulletin of the American Physical Society Journal Issue: 9 Vol. 38; ISSN 0003-0503; ISSN BAPSA6
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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