In the core of the Sun, energy is released through sequences of nuclear reactions that convert hydrogen into helium. The primary reaction is thought to be the fusion of two protons with the emission of a low-energy neutrino. These so-called pp neutrinos constitute nearly the entirety of the solar neutrino flux, vastly outnumbering those emitted in the reactions that follow. Although solar neutrinos from secondary processes have been observed, proving the nuclear origin of the Sun’s energy and contributing to the discovery of neutrino oscillations, those from proton–proton fusion have hitherto eluded direct detection. Here we report spectral observations of pp neutrinos, demonstrating that about 99 per cent of the power of the Sun, 3.84 × 1033 ergs per second, is generated by the proton–proton fusion process.

Neutrinos from the primary proton–proton fusion process in the Sun / G. Bellini, J. Benziger, D. Bick, G. Bonfini, D. Bravo, B. Caccianiga, L. Cadonati, F. Calaprice, A. Caminata, P. Cavalcante, A. Chavarria, A. Chepurnov, D. D’Angelo, S. Davini, A. Derbin, A. Empl, A. Etenko, K. Fomenko, D. Franco, F. Gabriele, C. Galbiati, S. Gazzana, C. Ghiano, M. Giammarchi, M. Göger-Neff, A. Goretti, M. Gromov, C. Hagner, E. Hungerford, A. Ianni, A. Ianni, V. Kobychev, D. Korablev, G. Korga, D. Kryn, M. Laubenstein, B. Lehnert, T. Lewke, E. Litvinovich, F. Lombardi, P. Lombardi, L. Ludhova, G. Lukyanchenko, I. Machulin, S. Manecki, W. Maneschg, S. Marcocci, Q. Meindl, E. Meroni, M. Meyer, L. Miramonti, M. Misiaszek, M. Montuschi, P. Mosteiro, V. Muratova, L. Oberauer, M. Obolensky, F. Ortica, K. Otis, M. Pallavicini, L. Papp, L. Perasso, A. Pocar, G. Ranucci, A. Razeto, A. Re, A. Romani, N. Rossi, R. Saldanha, C. Salvo, S. Schönert, H. Simgen, M. Skorokhvatov, O. Smirnov, A. Sotnikov, S. Sukhotin, Y. Suvorov, R. Tartaglia, G. Testera, D. Vignaud, R.B. Vogelaar, F. von Feilitzsch, H. Wang, J. Winter, M. Wojcik, A. Wright, M. Wurm, O. Zaimidoroga, S. Zavatarelli, K. Zuber, G. Zuzel. - In: NATURE. - ISSN 0028-0836. - 512:7515(2014 Aug 28), pp. 383-386. [10.1038/nature13702]

Neutrinos from the primary proton–proton fusion process in the Sun

G. Bellini;B. Caccianiga;D. D’Angelo;M. Giammarchi;L. Ludhova;E. Meroni;L. Miramonti;A. Re;
2014

Abstract

In the core of the Sun, energy is released through sequences of nuclear reactions that convert hydrogen into helium. The primary reaction is thought to be the fusion of two protons with the emission of a low-energy neutrino. These so-called pp neutrinos constitute nearly the entirety of the solar neutrino flux, vastly outnumbering those emitted in the reactions that follow. Although solar neutrinos from secondary processes have been observed, proving the nuclear origin of the Sun’s energy and contributing to the discovery of neutrino oscillations, those from proton–proton fusion have hitherto eluded direct detection. Here we report spectral observations of pp neutrinos, demonstrating that about 99 per cent of the power of the Sun, 3.84 × 1033 ergs per second, is generated by the proton–proton fusion process.
pp solar neutrinos ; borexino
Settore FIS/01 - Fisica Sperimentale
Settore FIS/04 - Fisica Nucleare e Subnucleare
Settore FIS/05 - Astronomia e Astrofisica
28-ago-2014
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2434/238857
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