DUSEL R&D: Development of a Novel Scintillation Lattice Technology for a Low-Energy Solar Neutrino Spectrometer

太阳提供了最高的物质密度，最长的基线，最纯的电子-中微子起源，最高的中微子通量和最低的能量，用于研究中微子味道现象学和探索太阳天体物理的详细问题。只有通过探测到包含99.9%以上通量的低能量(小于2 MeV)的太阳中微子，才有可能精确测量太阳的中微子光度。低能中微子探测器的研制是APS 2004年中微子多部门研究的三大重点之一。为了应对实时低能中微子探测的实验挑战，铟基低能太阳中微子能谱仪(LENS)是其中之一。一项关键的创新是一种新颖的闪烁晶格设计，用于定位核事件和应用In中微子俘获反应的空间符合标记的颗粒探测器。有了这项技术，随着铟液体闪烁体的发展，加上新的本底抑制概念，125吨含10吨铟的液体闪烁体可以达到透镜的物理目标。这里建议的研发资金旨在建造一种中等尺寸的原型探测器MinILENS，其尺寸约为全尺寸透镜的1%。这项提案特别要求提供资金来开发闪烁晶格技术和建设光学晶格。更广泛的影响包括对装载液体闪烁体的化学和工程工作的影响，这些工作影响到工业和国土安全中的中子探测等应用；以及测量与法医、国家安全、考古和大气调查的低水平计数技术相关的宇宙源和其他背景辐射效应。

The sun offers the highest matter density, the longest baseline, pure electron-neutrino flavor at the source and the highest neutrino flux with the lowest energies for studying neutrino flavor phenomenology and to pursue detailed questions on solar astrophysics. A precision measurement of the neutrino luminosity of the sun is possible only by the detection of low energy (less than 2 MeV) solar neutrinos that contain more than 99.9% of the flux. The development of low energy neutrino detectors is one of three priorities set by the 2004 APS Mutidivisional Study on Neutrinos.One way to meet the experimental challenge of real time low energy neutrino detection is the Indium-based Low Energy Solar Neutrino Spectrometer (LENS). A key innovation is a novel scintillation lattice design for a granular detector for locating nuclear events and applying the space coincidence tag of the In neutrino capture reaction. With this technology, the development of the Indium liquid scintillator, and with new background suppression concepts, the physics objectives for LENS can be met in 125 tons of liquid scintillator containing 10 tons of In. The funds awarded for the R&D proposed here aim at the construction of a modest size prototype detector, MINILENS, at ~1% the size of the full scale LENS. This proposal specifically requests funds to develop the scintillation lattice technology and to construct an optical lattice.The broader impact includes the chemistry and engineering of In-loaded liquid scintillators with work impacting applications such as neutron detection in industry and in homeland security; and measurements of cosmogenic and other background radiation effects relevant for low level counting techniques for forensic, national security, archeological and atmospheric investigations.