Further Evidence Suggestive of a Solar Influence on Nuclear Decay Rates

Recent analyses of nuclear decay data show evidence of variations suggestive of a solar influence. Analyses of datasets acquired at the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) and at the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) both show evidence of an annual periodicity and of periodicities with sidereal frequencies in the neighborhood of 12.25 year^{-1} (at a significance level that we have estimated to be 10^{-17}). It is notable that this implied rotation rate is lower than that attributed to the solar radiative zone, suggestive of a slowly rotating solar core. This leads us to hypothesize that there may be an "inner tachocline" separating the core from the radiative zone, analogous to the "outer tachocline" that separates the radiative zone from the convection zone. The Rieger periodicity (which has a period of about 154 days, corresponding to a frequency of 2.37 year^{-1}) may be attributed to an r-mode oscillation with spherical-harmonic indices l=3, m=1, located in the outer tachocline. This suggests that we may test the hypothesis of a solar influence on nuclear decay rates by searching BNL and PTB data for evidence of a "Rieger-like" r-mode oscillation, with l=3, m=1, in the inner tachocline. The appropriate search band for such an oscillation is estimated to be 2.00-2.28 year^{-1}. We find, in both datasets, strong evidence of a periodicity at 2.11 year^{-1}. We estimate that the probability of obtaining these results by chance is 10^{-12}.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, v2 has a color corrected Fig 6, a corrected reference, and a corrected typ

Re-Examination of Possible Bimodality of GALLEX Solar Neutrino Data

The histogram formed from published capture-rate measurements for the GALLEX solar neutrino experiment is bimodal, showing two distinct peaks. On the other hand, the histogram formed from published measurements derived from the similar GNO experiment is unimodal, showing only one peak. However, the two experiments differ in run durations: GALLEX runs are either three weeks or four weeks (approximately) in duration, whereas GNO runs are all about four weeks in duration. When we form 3-week and 4-week subsets of the GALLEX data, we find that the relevant histograms are unimodal. The upper peak arises mainly from the 3-week runs, and the lower peak from the 4-week runs. The 4-week subset of the GALLEX dataset is found to be similar to the GNO dataset. A recent re-analysis of GALLEX data leads to a unimodal histogram.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figure

Comparative Analysis of Super-Kamiokande and SNO Solar-Neutrino Data and the Photospheric Magnetic Field

We analyze Super-Kamiokande, SNO, and photospheric magnetic-field data for the common time interval, namely the SNO D2O phase. Concerning rotational modulation, the magnetic-field power spectrum shows the strongest peaks at the second and sixth harmonics of the solar synodic rotation frequency [3 nu(rot) and 7 nu(rot)]. The restricted Super-Kamiokande dataset shows strong modulation at the second harmonic. The SNO D2O dataset shows weak modulation at that frequency, but strong modulation in the sixth-harmonic frequency band. We estimate the significance level of the correspondence of the Super-Kamiokande second-harmonic peak with the corresponding magnetic-field peak to be 0.0004, and the significance level of the correspondence of the SNO D2O sixth-harmonic peak with the corresponding magnetic-field peak to be 0.009. By estimating the amplitude of the modulation of the solar neutrino flux at the second harmonic from the restricted Super-Kamiokande dataset, we find that the weak power at that frequency in the SNO D2O power spectrum is not particularly surprising. Concerning 9.43 yr-1, we find no peak at this frequency in the power spectrum formed from the restricted Super-Kamiokande dataset, so it is no surprise that this peak does not show up in the SNO D2O dataset, either.Comment: 32 pages, 8 tables, 16 figure

Power Spectrum Analysis of LMSU (Lomonosov Moscow State University) Nuclear Decay-Rate Data: Further Indication of r-Mode Oscillations in an Inner Solar Tachocline

This article presents a power-spectrum analysis of 2,350 measurements of the $^{90}$Sr/$^{90}$Y decay process acquired over the interval 4 August 2002 to 6 February 2009 at the Lomonosov Moscow State University (LMSU). As we have found for other long sequences of decay measurements, the power spectrum is dominated by a very strong annual oscillation. However, we also find a set of low-frequency peaks, ranging from 0.26 year$^{-1}$ to 3.98 year$^{-1}$, which are very similar to an array of peaks in a power spectrum formed from Mt Wilson solar diameter measurements. The Mt Wilson measurements have been interpreted in terms of r-mode oscillations in a region where the sidereal rotation frequency is 12.08 year$^{-1}$. We find that the LMSU measurements may also be attributed to the same type of r-mode oscillations in a solar region with the same sidereal rotation frequency. We propose that these oscillations occur in an inner tachocline that separates the radiative zone from a more slowly rotating solar core.Comment: 5 pages, 8 figures. v2 corrects three typographical errors on page 3, including the missing list of r-modes in sec. 3, para

7Be ^7 Be Neutrino Signal Variation in KamLAND

Large Mixing Angle (LMA) neutrino oscillation is the main solution for the long-standing Solar Neutrino Problem (SNP). Whether there is any subdominant effect accompanying the dominant LMA solution can not be ruled out at the moment, but will be settled by the forthcoming data from highly skilled real time experiments targeting essentially the low energy domain of solar neutrinos. Assuming a subdominant effect converting one of the active neutrinos into a sterile partner in the varying solar field with changing sunspot activity, we performed field-profile-independent predictions for $^7 Be$ neutrino signal variation, which might be tested in the KamLAND's future solar neutrino detection program. We found that after a substantial reduction of background and running of KamLAND solar mode through the sunspot maximum period (around 2010 - 2012), when the solar field at the resonance may vary from few $kG$ to $300~kG$, the subdominant time variation effect might be clearly visible (more than $5\sigma$) for $^7 Be$ neutrinos.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, typos corrected. To appear in JHE

Comparative analysis of Gallex and GNO solar neutrino data

Since the GALLEX and GNO datasets were derived from closely related experiments, there is a natural tendency to merge them. This is perhaps appropriate for any analysis based on the hypothesis that the solar neutrino flux is constant, but it is not necessarily appropriate for an analysis that allows for possible variability, since the GALLEX and GNO experiments belong to different solar cycles. Moreover, we find significant differences between the GALLEX and GNO datasets. It appears, from inspection of the time series and histograms, that GNO measurements are compatible with the assumption that the solar neutrino flux is constant, but GALLEX measurements are not. Furthermore, power-spectrum analysis yields evidence of rotational modulation in GALLEX data but not in GNO data. We compare our results with those of Pandola, who claims that GALLEX-GNO data show no evidence for variability.Comment: 20 pages plus 6 tables plus 11 figure

Combined analysis of solar neutrino and solar irradiance data: further evidence for variability of the solar neutrino flux and its implications concerning the solar core

A search for any particular feature in any single solar neutrino dataset is unlikely to establish variability of the solar neutrino flux since the count rates are very low. It helps to combine datasets, and in this article we examine data from both the Homestake and GALLEX experiments. These show evidence of modulation with a frequency of 11.85 yr-1, which could be indicative of rotational modulation originating in the solar core. We find that precisely the same frequency is prominent in power spectrum analyses of the ACRIM irradiance data for both the Homestake and GALLEX time intervals. These results suggest that the solar core is inhomogeneous and rotates with sidereal frequency 12.85 yr-1. We find, by Monte Carlo calculations, that the probability that the neutrino data would by chance match the irradiance data in this way is only 2 parts in 10,000. This rotation rate is significantly lower than that of the inner radiative zone (13.97 yr-1) as recently inferred from analysis of Super-Kamiokande data, suggesting that there may be a second, inner tachocline separating the core from the radiative zone. This opens up the possibility that there may be an inner dynamo that could produce a strong internal magnetic field and a second solar cycle.Comment: 22 pages, 9 tables, 10 figure

Evidence for Solar Neutrino Flux Variability and its Implications

Althogh KamLAND apparently rules out Resonant-Spin-Flavor-Precession (RSFP) as an explanation of the solar neutrino deficit, the solar neutrino fluxes in the Cl and Ga experiments appear to vary with solar rotation. Added to this evidence, summarized here, a power spectrum analysis of the Super-Kamiokande data reveals significant variation in the flux matching a dominant rotation rate observed in the solar magnetic field in the same time period. Three frequency peaks, all related to this rotation rate, can be explained quantitatively. A Super-Kamiokande paper reported no time variation of the flux, but showed the same peaks, there interpreted as statistically insignificant, due to an inappropriate analysis. This modulation is small (7%) in the Super-Kamiokande energy region (and below the sensitivity of the Super-Kamiokande analysis) and is consistent with RSFP as a subdominant neutrino process in the convection zone. The data display effects that correspond to solar-cycle changes in the magnetic field, typical of the convection zone. This subdominant process requires new physics: a large neutrino transition magnetic moment and a light sterile neutrino, since an effect of this amplitude occurring in the convection zone cannot be achieved with the three known neutrinos. It does, however, resolve current problems in providing fits to all experimental estimates of the mean neutrino flux, and is compatible with the extensive evidence for solar neutrino flux variability.Comment: 9 pages, 10 figures (5 in color); new figure, data added to another figure, more clarification, especially on the origin of the effect and its connection to sterile neutrinos; v3 is updated, especially using the results of hep-ph/0402194; v4 is a further update, mainly of references, with a small change to make the title more appropriate; v5 includes more clarification and the result of now having hep-ph/0411148 and hep-ph/0501205 and so increases the length; v6 has a small change in the title and some additional information at the referee's request to correspond to the version to be published in Astroparticle Physic

Analysis of bimodality in histograms formed from GALLEX and GNO solar neutrino data

A histogram display of the solar neutrino capture-rate measurements made by the GALLEX experiment appears to be bimodal, but that of the follow-on GNO experiment does not. To assess the significance of these results, we introduce a "bimodality index" based on the probability-transform procedure. This confirms that the GALLEX measurements are indeed bimodal (at the 99.98 percent confidence level), and that the GNO measurements are not. Tracking the bimodality index as a function of time shows that the strongest contribution to bimodality comes from runs 42 to 62, i.e. from the time interval 1995.1 to 1996.9. The bimodality index for the first half (runs 1 through 33) is 2.56, whereas that for the second half (runs 33 through 65) is 7.05. Power-spectrum analysis shows a similar distinction: the peaks in the power spectrum formed from the second half are stronger than those in the power spectrum formed from the first half, suggesting that bimodality and rotational modulation are related.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figure

Power Spectrum Analysis of Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt Decay-Rate Data: Evidence for Solar Rotational Modulation

Evidence for an anomalous annual periodicity in certain nuclear decay data has led to speculation concerning a possible solar influence on nuclear processes. We have recently analyzed data concerning the decay rates of Cl-36 and Si-32, acquired at the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), to search for evidence that might be indicative of a process involving solar rotation. Smoothing of the power spectrum by weighted-running-mean analysis leads to a significant peak at frequency 11.18/yr, which is lower than the equatorial synodic rotation rates of the convection and radiative zones. This article concerns measurements of the decay rates of Ra-226 acquired at the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) in Germany. We find that a similar (but not identical) analysis yields a significant peak in the PTB dataset at frequency 11.21/yr, and a peak in the BNL dataset at 11.25/yr. The change in the BNL result is not significant since the uncertainties in the BNL and PTB analyses are estimated to be 0.13/yr and 0.07/yr, respectively. Combining the two running means by forming the joint power statistic leads to a highly significant peak at frequency 11.23/yr. We comment briefly on the possible implications of these results for solar physics and for particle physics.Comment: 15 pages, 13 figure