Direct Approach to Resolve the Solar-Neutrino Problem

Abstract

A direct approach to resolve the solar-neutrino problem would be to observe neutrinos by use of both neutral-current and charged-current reactions. Then, the total neutrino flux and the electron-neutrino flux would be separately determined to provide independent tests of the neutrino-oscillation hypothesis and the standard solar model. A large heavy-water Cherenkov detector, sensitive to neutrinos from ${}_{}{}^8{}_{}{}^{}\mathrm{B}$ decay via the neutral-curent reaction $\nu +d\to \nu +p+n$ and the charged-current reaction ${\nu }_e+d\to e^{-}+p+p$, is suggested for this purpose.