Science and technology of BOREXINO: A Real time detector for low-energy solar neutrinos: A Real Time Detector for Low Energy Solar Neutrinos

BOREXINO, a real-time device for low energy neutrino spectroscopy is nearing completion of construction in the underground laboratories at Gran Sasso, Italy (LNGS). The experiment's goal is the direct measurement of the flux of 7Be solar neutrinos of all flavors via neutrino-electron scattering in an ultra-pure scintillation liquid. Seeded by a series of innovations which were brought to fruition by large scale operation of a 4-ton test detector at LNGS, a new technology has been developed for BOREXINO. It enables sub-MeV solar neutrino spectroscopy for the first time. This paper describes the design of BOREXINO, the various facilities essential to its operation, its spectroscopic and background suppression capabilities and a prognosis of the impact of its results towards resolving the solar neutrino problem. BOREXINO will also address several other frontier questions in particle physics, astrophysics and geophysics

Borexino: The Detector and the Physics Program

The exciting arena of the solar neutrino investigation will see in the near future a new actor coming in the game: Borexino. This massive, calorimetric, liquid scintillation detector, under installation in the underground Gran Sasso Laboratory, will address one of the fundamental issue of this field, the direct determination of the flux of the neutrinos produced in the 7 Be electron capture reaction in the Sun. Forerunner of Borexino, the Counting Test Facility operated for two years at Gran Sasso, provided the convincing evidence that the major technological challenge of the experiment, the production of scintillator at unprecedented radiopurity levels, can be accomplished successfully, thus opening the way to the realization of the experiment. 2 1. Introduction A long history of 30 years of measurements provides the foundation of the well known solar neutrino problem, which from a pure astrophysics puzzle has evolved to a profound particle physics issue, with strong hints for s..

Science and technology of Borexino: a real-time detector for low energy solar neutrinos

Borexino, a real-time device for low energy neutrino spectroscopy is nearing completion of construction in the underground laboratories at Gran Sasso, Italy (LNGS). The experiment's goal is the direct measurement of the flux of Be-7 solar neutrinos of all flavors via neutrino-electron scattering in an ultra-pure scintillation liquid, Seeded by a series of innovations which were brought to fruition by large-scale operation of a 4-ton test detector at LNGS, a new technology has been developed for Borexino. It enables sub-MeV solar neutrino spectroscopy for the first time. This paper describes the design of Borexino, the various facilities essential to its operation, its spectroscopic and background suppression capabilities and a prognosis of the impact of its results towards resolving the solar neutrino problem. Borexino will also address several other frontier questions in particle physics, astrophysics and geophysics