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Published on: February 12, 2013
Toward First Detection of the Solar Mikheyev-Smirnov-Wolfenstein Transition with JUNO
Obada Nairat1,2, John F Beacom1,2,3, Kevin J Kelly4
1Ohio State University, Center for Cosmology and AstroParticle Physics (CCAPP), Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA.
Abstract:
Matter-induced neutrino flavor mixing (the Mikheyev-Smirnov-Wolfenstein, or MSW, effect) is a central prediction of the neutrino mixing framework, but it has not been conclusively observed. Direct observation of the energy-dependent MSW transition in the solar electron-neutrino survival probability would solve this, but backgrounds have been prohibitive. We show that our new technique for suppressing muon-induced spallation backgrounds will allow JUNO to measure the MSW transition at >4σ significance in 10 years. This would strongly support upcoming multibillion-dollar next-generation experiments and their goals in cementing the neutrino mixing framework.
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