As part of its nuclear reactions in its core, the sun produces neutrinos. Neutrinos are electrically neutral particles that interact only very rarely with matter. Once produced, they pass through the sun and fly off into space. The Principal Investigator (PI) of this proposal intends to measure the solar neutrino flux on earth, making use of new fast counting equipment and of chlorine, which becomes excited when absorbing neutrinos and thereby allows the measurement of the rate of solar neutrino absorption. This is a classic neutrino experiment that the PI has been conducting for about two decades in the Homestake Gold Mine. The ultimate goal of this experiment is to understand the current differences between the measured and theoretically predicted solar neutrino flux.

Agency
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Institute
Division of Astronomical Sciences (AST)
Application #
8812418
Program Officer
M. Kent Wilson
Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
1989-03-15
Budget End
1992-08-31
Support Year
Fiscal Year
1988
Total Cost
$331,378
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Pennsylvania
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
Philadelphia
State
PA
Country
United States
Zip Code
19104