Bolometric detection of neutrinos

Abstract

Elastic neutrino scattering off electrons in crystalline silicon at 1–10 mK results in measurable temperature changes in macroscopic amounts of material, even for low-energy (<0.41 MeV) pp ν’s from the sun. We propose new detectors for bolometric measurement of low-energy ν interactions, including coherent nuclear elastic scattering. A new and more sensitive search for oscillations of reactor antineutrinos is practical (∼100 Kg of Si), and would lay the groundwork for a more ambitious measurement of the spectrum pp, ${}_{}{}^7{}_{}{}^{}\mathrm{Be}$ and ${}_{}{}^8{}_{}{}^{}\mathrm{B}$ solar ν’s, and supernovae anywhere in our galaxy (∼10 tons of Si).