Radiochemical Solar Neutrino Experiments - Successful and Otherwise. Page: 3 of 10
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B N L-81686-2008-CP
Radiochemical solar neutrino experiments,
"successful and otherwise"
Richard L Hahn'
Neutrinos/Nuclear-Chemistry Group, Chemistry Department,
Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY 11973, USA
E-mail: rhahn@bnl.gov
Abstract. Over the years, several different radiochemical systems have been proposed as
solar neutrino detectors. Of these, two achieved operating status and obtained important
results that helped to define the current field of neutrino physics: the first solar-neutrino
experiment, the Chlorine Detector (37Cl) that was developed by chemist Raymond Davis
and colleagues at the Homestake Mine, and the subsequent Gallium (71Ga) Detectors that
were operated by (a) the SAGE collaboration at the Baksan Laboratory and (b) the
GALLEX/GNO collaborations at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory. These experiments
have been extensively discussed in the literature and in many previous International
Neutrino Conferences. In this paper, I present important updates to the results from
SAGE and GALLEX/GNO. I also review the principles of the radiochemical detectors
and briefly describe several different detectors that have been proposed. In light of the
well-known successes that have been subsequently obtained by real-time neutrino
detectors such as Kamiokande, Super-Kamiokande, SNO, and KamLAND, I do not
anticipate that any new radiochemical neutrino detectors will be built. At present, only
SAGE is still operating; the Chlorine and GNO radiochemical detectors have been
decommissioned and dismantled.
1. Introduction
The Standard Solar Model (SSM) that was put forth by John Bahcall and colleagues [1] is based
on the concept that solar energy is the product of nuclear reactions that convert hydrogen in the
Sun into helium, releasing 26 MeV of energy and producing isotopes of the chemical elements
He, Li, Be, and B, and to a lesser extent, C, N, and O. In this process, electron-flavor neutrinos,
ve, are emitted in beta-decay processes. These reactions occur in a step-wise manner because the
temperature in the solar core is low, -15 million degrees Kelvin or an energy of - 1 keV. Figure 1
shows the calculated energy spectra and fluxes of the solar ve produced by these reactions, from
the SSM of Bahcall and Pinsonneault [2].
1 Research sponsored by U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Offices of High-Energy Physics
and of Nuclear Physics, under contract with BNL
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Hahn,R.L. Radiochemical Solar Neutrino Experiments - Successful and Otherwise., article, May 25, 2008; United States. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc899399/m1/3/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.