Nuclear response of water Cherenkov detectors to supernova and solar neutrinos
I present a careful examination of the nuclear cross sections of low-energy neutrinos and antineutrinos in water Cherenkov detectors, and consider the implications for neutrinos from SN1987A. For thermal sources with Tapprox. >4--5 MeV (depending on the detector threshold) the reaction O(..nu../sub e/,e/sup -/)F becomes the dominant mechanism for ..nu../sub e/ interactions, and at Tapprox. >7--9 MeV its rate exceeds that for (..nu../sub e/,e) elastic scattering by at least an order of magnitude. This has important implications for proposed mechanisms for prompt emission of energetic ..nu../sub e/'s following neutronization. The O(nu-bar/sub e/,e/sup +/)N contribution remains a small correction to the dominant nu-bar/sub e/+p..-->..e/sup +/+n rate, accounting for less than 10% of the events even at T = 10 MeV. Thus delayed ..beta../sup -/ emission by /sup 16/N(tau/sub 1/2/ = 7.1 sec) cannot distort event timing. Observable neutral-current nuclear excitations are absent in water, but can be strongly excited in carbon-bearing liquid-scintillation detectors. Arguments are given that a burst poor in electron neutrinos and antineutrinos, but otherwise similar to those derived from standard supernovae theory, might produce comparable signals in the Mt. Blanc, Kamioka, and Irvine-Michigan-Brookhaven detectors. For solar neutrinos generated by /sup 8/B ..beta.. decay, reactions with trace quantities of /sup 18/O (two atoms per 10/sup 4/ electrons in natural water) account for approximately 10% of electron events. If it proves feasible to enhance the /sup 18/O content of a water Cherenkov detector, the hard spectrum of produced electrons would make an attractive charged-current signal.
- Research Organization:
- Institute for Nuclear Theory, Department of Physics, FM-15, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195
- OSTI ID:
- 6059001
- Journal Information:
- Phys. Rev. D; (United States), Vol. 36:8
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
GENERAL PHYSICS
73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS
46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
NEUTRINO REACTIONS
CHARGED-CURRENT INTERACTIONS
OXYGEN
SOLAR NEUTRINOS
CHERENKOV COUNTERS
NEUTRINO DETECTION
ANTINEUTRINOS
BETA DECAY
CROSS SECTIONS
ELASTIC SCATTERING
ELECTRON NEUTRINOS
GAMOW-TELLER RULES
MEV RANGE 01-10
NEUTRINO-NUCLEON INTERACTIONS
NEUTRINOS
NITROGEN 16
SCINTILLATION COUNTERS
SUPERNOVAE
WATER
ANTILEPTONS
ANTIMATTER
ANTIPARTICLES
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
DECAY
DETECTION
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
ELEMENTS
ENERGY RANGE
ERUPTIVE VARIABLE STARS
FERMIONS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INTERACTIONS
ISOTOPES
LEPTON REACTIONS
LEPTON-BARYON INTERACTIONS
LEPTON-HADRON INTERACTIONS
LEPTON-NUCLEON INTERACTIONS
LEPTONS
LIGHT NUCLEI
MASSLESS PARTICLES
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
MEV RANGE
NITROGEN ISOTOPES
NONMETALS
NUCLEAR REACTIONS
NUCLEI
ODD-ODD NUCLEI
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PARTICLE INTERACTIONS
RADIATION DETECTION
RADIATION DETECTORS
RADIATIONS
RADIOISOTOPES
SCATTERING
SECONDS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
SOLAR PARTICLES
SOLAR RADIATION
STARS
STELLAR RADIATION
VARIABLE STARS
640102* - Astrophysics & Cosmology- Stars & Quasi-Stellar
Radio & X-Ray Sources
651320 - Nuclear Properties & Reactions
A=6-19
Experimental
440101 - Radiation Instrumentation- General Detectors or Monitors & Radiometric Instruments