Remaining inconsistencies with solar neutrinos: can spin flavour precession provide a clue?

TL;DR

This paper explores whether spin flavour precession to sterile neutrinos can resolve remaining inconsistencies in solar neutrino observations, such as the flat SuperKamiokande spectrum and Chlorine rate discrepancies, and suggests future experiments could reveal flux variability.

Contribution

It introduces a spin flavour precession model involving sterile neutrinos that better fits solar neutrino data and proposes observational tests for flux variability.

Findings

Model predicts a flat SuperKamiokande spectrum.

Chlorine rate prediction aligns more closely with data.

Future Borexino measurements could detect flux variability.

Abstract

A few inconsistencies remain after it has been ascertained that LMA is the dominant solution to the solar neutrino problem: why is the SuperKamiokande spectrum flat and why is the Chlorine rate prediction over two standard deviations above the data. There also remains the ananswered and important question of whether the active neutrino flux is constant or time varying. We propose a scenario involving spin flavour precession to sterile neutrinos with three active flavours that predicts a flat SuperK spectrum and a Chlorine rate prediction more consistent with data. We also argue that running the Borexino experiment during the next few years may provide a very important clue as to the possible variability of the solar neutrino flux.