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arXiv · 1104.1335

A step toward CNO solar neutrinos detection in liquid scintillators

Abstract

The detection of CNO solar neutrinos in ultrapure liquid scintillator detectors is limited by the background produced by Bismuth-210 nuclei that undergo beta-decay to Polonium-210 with a lifetime equal to about 7 days. Polonium-210 nuclei are unstable and decay with a lifetime equal to about 200 days emitting alpha particles that can be also detected. In this letter, we show that the Bi-210 background can be determined by looking at the time evolution of alpha-decay rate of Po-210, provided that alpha particle detection efficiency is stable over the data acquisition period and external sources of Po-210 are negligible. A sufficient accuracy can be obtained in a relatively short time. As an example, if the initial Po-210 event rate is 2000 cpd/100 ton or lower, a Borexino-like detector could start discerning CNO neutrino signal from Bi-210 background in about 1 yr.

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F. L. Villante, A. Ianni, F. Lombardi, G. Pagliaroli, F. Vissani. 2011-04-07. A step toward CNO solar neutrinos detection in liquid scintillators. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physletb.2011.05.068

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