Scientists Detect Record-Low Energy Solar Neutrinos for First Time
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An international team of scientists, including from the Weizmann Institute, has detected solar neutrinos at a record-low energy level of 17 keV using the XENONnT detector in Italy. This breakthrough, achieved by overcoming significant background noise challenges, enhances the detector's sensitivity and opens new avenues for neutrino research.
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- Scientists detected solar neutrinos at a record-low energy of 17 keV.
- The XENONnT detector in Italy achieved this breakthrough.
- The detection involved solar neutrinos scattering off electrons.
- Researchers overcame significant background noise challenges.
- The finding enhances the detector's capabilities for neutrino research.
The XENONnT scientific collaboration, including researchers from the Weizmann Institute, has achieved a groundbreaking detection of solar neutrinos with unprecedentedly low energies. Using the XENONnT detector situated 1,400 meters underground in Italy's Gran Sasso Laboratory, the international team recorded solar neutrinos scattering off electrons. This measurement has pushed the energy threshold for detection down to a record low of approximately 17 keV, a feat likened to distinguishing the rustle of a sand grain across a football field during a match.
The detected signal was primarily composed of pp-neutrinos, which are generated by the proton-proton chain reaction, the main energy source of the Sun. The XENONnT detector, originally designed to search for dark matter, utilizes nearly 5.9 tons of ultra-pure liquid xenon. To capture such a faint solar neutrino signal with the high degree of certainty required in particle physics, the researchers had to achieve extraordinary levels of purity within the facility.
A significant challenge was mitigating background noise from radioactive radon emitted by the detector's own materials. The team developed a sophisticated cryogenic system for continuous xenon purification and accounted for background radiation from lead and krypton isotopes. This new achievement enhances the capabilities of the XENONnT facility, establishing it as one of the world's most sensitive neutrino detectors and paving the way for next-generation observatories.
Professor Rany Budnik of the Weizmann Institute commented on the breakthrough, stating, "We have entered an era where we can see things that were previously elusive to humans, and now we are preparing to explore what awaits us there, both expected processes and completely unexpected discoveries."