Search for modulations of the solar $^{7}\mathrm{Be}$ flux in the next-generation neutrino observatory LENA

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

Michael Wurm, Barbara Caccianiga, Davide D’Angelo, Stefano Davini, Franz von Feilitzsch, Marianne Göger-Neff, Tobias Lachenmaier, Timo Lewke, Paolo Lombardi, Livia Ludhova, Quirin Meindl, Emanuela Meroni, Lino Miramonti, Randolph Möllenberg, Lothar Oberauer, Walter Potzel, Gioacchino Ranucci, Marc Tippmann, and Jürgen Winter

Phys. Rev. D 83, 032010 – Published 24 February 2011

Abstract

A next-generation liquid-scintillator detector will be able to perform high-statistics measurements of the solar neutrino flux. In LENA, solar ${}^{7}{Be}$ neutrinos are expected to cause $1.7 \times 10^{4}$ electron recoil events per day in a fiducial volume of 35 kilotons. Based on this signal, a search for periodic modulations on a subpercent 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.