Does the Sun appear brighter at night in neutrinos?

Journal Article · Sat Nov 01 04:00:00 EST 1997 · Physical Review, C

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.56.2839· OSTI ID:545045

Bahcall, J N; Krastev, P I ^[1]

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1. School of Natural Sciences, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey 08540 (United States)

We calculate accurately the number of solar neutrino events expected as a function of solar zenith angle, with and without neutrino oscillations, for detectors at the locations of Super-Kamiokande, SNO, and the Gran Sasso National Laboratory. Using different Earth models to estimate geophysical uncertainties, and different solar models to estimate solar uncertainties, we evaluate distortions predicted by the Mikheyev-Smirnov-Wolfenstein (MSW) effect in the zenith angle distributions of solar neutrino events. The distortions are caused by oscillations and by {nu}-e interactions in the Earth that regenerate {nu}{sub e} from {nu}{sub {mu}} or {nu}{sub {tau}}. We show that the first two moments of the zenith-angle distribution are more sensitive to the small mixing angle MSW solution than the conventionally studied day-night asymmetry. We present iso-{sigma} contours that illustrate the potential of Super-Kamiokande, SNO, BOREXINO, ICARUS, and HERON/HELLAZ for detecting the Earth regeneration effect at their actual locations (and at the equator). MSW solutions favored by the four pioneering solar neutrino experiments predict characteristic distortions for Super-Kamiokande, SNO, BOREXINO, and ICARUS that range from being unmeasurably small to {gt}5{sigma} (stat) after only a few years of observations. {copyright} {ital 1997} {ital The American Physical Society}

• OSTI ID: 545045
• Journal Information: Physical Review, C, Journal Name: Physical Review, C Journal Issue: 5 Vol. 56; ISSN 0556-2813; ISSN PRVCAN
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

66 PHYSICS
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
NEUTRINO OSCILLATION
SOLAR NEUTRINOS
SUN