Potential for a precision measurement of solar $pp$ neutrinos in the Serappis Experiment

TL;DR

The Serappis experiment proposes a small, high-resolution liquid scintillator detector to measure solar $pp$ neutrinos with unprecedented precision, testing solar models and neutrino oscillations.

Contribution

It introduces a novel, low-cost approach using existing infrastructure to achieve high-precision solar $pp$ neutrino flux measurements.

Findings

Potential to measure $pp$ neutrino flux at a few percent accuracy.

Utilizes ultra-low $^{14}$C scintillator material for background reduction.

Leverages existing JUNO infrastructure for detector development.

Abstract

The Serappis (SEarch for RAre PP-neutrinos In Scintillator) project aims at a precision measurement of the flux of solar $pp$ neutrinos on the few-percent level. Such a measurement will be a relevant contribution to the study of solar neutrino oscillation parameters and a sensitive test of the solar luminosity constraint. The concept of Serappis relies on a small organic liquid scintillator detector ($\sim$20 m$^3$) with excellent energy resolution ($\sim$2.5 % at 1 MeV), low internal background and sufficient shielding from surrounding radioactivity. This can be achieved by a minor upgrade of the OSIRIS facility at the site of the JUNO neutrino experiment in southern China. To go substantially beyond current accuracy levels for the $pp$ flux, an organic scintillator with ultra-low $^{14}$C levels (below $10^{-18}$) is required. The existing OSIRIS detector and JUNO infrastructure will be instrumental in identifying suitable scintillator materials, offering a unique chance for a low-budget high-precision measurement of a fundamental property of our Sun that will be otherwise hard to access.