Time-Frequency Analysis of GALLEX and GNO Solar Neutrino Data: Evidence Suggestive of Asymmetric and Variable Nuclear Burning

TL;DR

This study applies time-frequency analysis to GALLEX and GNO solar neutrino data, revealing evidence of asymmetric and variable nuclear burning possibly occurring in the solar core or radiative zone, consistent with earlier findings.

Contribution

It introduces a novel time-frequency analysis approach to solar neutrino data, clarifying the true modulation signals and their potential solar origin, advancing understanding of solar nuclear processes.

Findings

Identified true modulation at 11.87 yr-1 in neutrino data

Detected aliasing effects in power-spectrum analyses

Suggested modulation occurs in the solar core or radiative zone

Abstract

Time-frequency analysis of data from the GALLEX and GNO solar neutrino experiments shows that some features in power-spectrum analyses of those datasets are due to aliasing. We normalize data for each of the four experiments in the GALLEX series, concatenate the resulting normalized data, and then form time-frequency displays. We also form time-frequency displays of the two principal modulations found in the data, at 11.87 yr-1 and at 13.63 yr-1, and of the datasets formed by subtracting these modulations from the actual (normalized) data. The results suggest that the true modulation is that at 11.87 yr-1, consistent with the results of our earlier analysis of Homestake solar neutrino data. Comparison with helioseismology data indicates that modulation is occurring either in the radiative zone just below the tachocline, presumably by the RSFP (resonant spin-flavor precession) process, or in the core, presumably due to inhomogeneities and fluctuations in the nuclear-burning process.