Low energy solar neutrino spectroscopy : results from the Borexino experiment

Till very recent the real-time solar neutrino experiments were detecting the tiny fraction of about 0.01% of the total neutrino flux above some MeV energy, the sub-MeV region remained explored only by radiochemical experiments without spectroscopical capabilities. The Borexino experiment, an unsegmented large volume liquid scintillator detector located in the Gran Sasso National Laboratory in central Italy, is at present the only experiment in the world acquiring the real-time solar neutrino data in the low-energy region, via the elastic scattering on electrons in the target mass. The data taking campaign started in 2007 and rapidly lead to the first independent measurement of the mono-cromatic line of 7Be of the solar neutrino spectrum at 862keV, which is of special interest because of the very loose limits coming from existing experiments. The latest measurement, after 41.3t · yr of exposure, is (49 ± 3stat ± 4syst)c/(day · 100t) and leaves the hypothesis of no oscillation inconsistent with data at 4σ level. It also represents the first direct measurement of the survival probability for solar in the vacuum-dominates oscillation regime. Recently Borexino was also able to measure of the 8B solar neutrinos interaction rate down to the threshold energy of 3 MeV, the lowest achieved so far. The inferred electron neutrino flux is . The corresponding mean electron neutrino survival probability, is at the effective energy of 8.9 MeV. Both measurements are in good agreement with other existing measurements and with predictions from the SSM in the hypothesis of MSW-LMA oscillation scenario. For the first time, thanks to the unprecedented radio-purity of the Borexino target and construction materials, we confirm with a single detector, the presence of a transition between the low energy vacuum-dominated and the high-energy matter-enhanced solar neutrino oscillations. A further confirmations of the LMA scenario is provided by the absence of a day-night asymmetry in the 7Be signal. These experimental results allow to improve the knowledge of the pp neutrino flux, to place an upper limit on the CNO flux and also to explore non standard neutrino properties, improving the upper limit on the neutrino effective magnetic moment. Calibration campaigns aiming to reduce the systematical errors on fiducial volume definition and detector energy response have been performed and data analysis is presently in progress. Borexino has also recently observed antineutrinos from the Earth, for the first time at more the 3σ C.L. and has measured a rate of events/(100ton-yr) at 68.3%(99.73%) C.L. Borexino is also a powerful supernova neutrino detector. Future prospects of the experiment include reducing the systematic error on the 7Be flux to below 5% and direct measurement of additional solar neutrino emissions such as pep, CNO and possibly pp.