1999/07/22 by D. N. McKinsey, John M. Doyle, McKinsey, D. N. +2 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics (astro-ph) #Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena #Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena #FOS: Physical sciences #High Energy Physics - Experiment (hep-ex) #Neutrino Physics Research #astro-ph #hep-ex
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.astro-ph/9907314
18 pages, 1 figure. To be published in the Journal of Low Temperature Physics. Added: more information about cryogenic considerations and radioactive backgrounds
openalex publication_date 1999/07/22 · arxiv created 1999/09/28 · arxiv updated 2009/11/30 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The use of liquid helium and neon as scintillators for neutrino detection is investigated. Several unique properties of these cryogens make them promising candidates for real-time solar neutrino spectroscopy: large ultraviolet scintillation yields from ionizing radiation, transparency to their own scintillation light, and low levels of radioactive impurities. When neutrinos scatter from electrons in liquid helium or neon, ultraviolet light is emitted. The ultraviolet scintillation light can be efficiently converted to the visible with wavelength shifting films. In this way the neutrino-electron scattering events can be detected by photomultiplier tubes at room temperature. We conclude that the solar neutrino flux from the \rm p+p→ e++d+νe reaction could be characterized and monitored versus time using a 10 ton mass of liquid helium or neon as a scintillation target.