Measurement of the response of a gallium metal solar neutrino experiment to neutrinos from a [Formula Presented] source

The neutrino capture rate measured by the Russian-American Gallium Experiment is well below that predicted by solar models. To check the response of this experiment to low-energy neutrinos, a 517 kCi source of [Formula Presented]Cr was produced by irradiating 512.7 g of 92.4%-enriched [Formula Presented]Cr in a high-flux fast neutron reactor. This source, which mainly emits monoenergetic 747-keV neutrinos, was placed at the center of a 13.1 ton target of liquid gallium and the cross section for the production of [Formula Presented]Ge by the inverse beta decay [Formula Presented] was measured to be [Formula Presented] The ratio of this cross section to the theoretical cross section of Bahcall for this reaction is 0.95 ±0.12 [Formula Presented] (theor) and to the cross section of Haxton is 0.87±0.11 (expt)±0.09 (theor). This good agreement between prediction and observation implies that the overall experimental efficiency is correctly determined and provides considerable evidence for the reliability of the solar neutrino measurement. © 1999 The American Physical Society

Measurement of the response of a gallium metal solar neutrino experiment to neutrinos from a 51Cr source

The neutrino capture rate measured by the Russian-American Gallium Experiment is well below that predicted by solar models. To check the response of this experiment to low-energy neutrinos, a 517 kCi source of 51Cr was produced by irradiating 512.7 g of 92.4%-enriched 50Cr in a high-flux fast neutron reactor. This source, which mainly emits monoenergetic 747-keV neutrinos, was placed at the center of a 13.1 tonne target of liquid gallium and the cross section for the production of 71Ge by the inverse beta decay reaction was measured to be (5.55 +/- 0.60 (stat.) +/- 0.32 (syst.)) x 10^(-45) cm^2. The ratio of this cross section to the theoretical cross section of Bahcall for this reaction is 0.95 +/- 0.12 (exp.) +/- 0.03 (theor.) and to the cross section of Haxton is 0.87 +/- 0.11 (exp.) +/- 0.09 (theor.). This good agreement between prediction and observation implies that the overall experimental efficiency for the solar neutrino measurements is correctly determined and provides considerable evidence for the reliability of the solar neutrino measurement.Comment: 20 pages including figures in two column forma