Search for modulations of the solar Be-7 flux in the next-generation neutrino observatory LENA

TL;DR

The paper discusses how the next-generation LENA detector can precisely measure solar Be-7 neutrino flux, enabling detection of periodic modulations from minutes to years, surpassing current sensitivities.

Contribution

It introduces the potential of LENA to detect sub-percent level flux modulations across a wide period range, enhancing solar physics studies.

Findings

LENA can detect 1.7x10^4 electron recoil events per day.

Sensitivity to flux modulations exceeds current detectors by at least a factor of 20.

Accessible periods range from minutes to decades.

Abstract

A next-generation liquid-scintillator detector will be able to perform high-statistics measurements of the solar neutrino flux. In LENA, solar Be-7 neutrinos are expected to cause 1.7x10^4 electron recoil events per day in a fiducial volume of 35 kilotons. Based on this signal, a search for periodic modulations on sub-percent level can be conducted, surpassing the sensitivity of current detectors by at least a factor of 20. The range of accessible periods reaches from several minutes, corresponding to modulations induced by helioseismic g-modes, to tens of years, allowing to study long-term changes in solar fusion rates.