Solar neutrinos reveal how the Sun shines

Serenelli, Aldo

doi:10.1038/d41586-018-07099-1

NEWS AND VIEWS
24 October 2018

Solar neutrinos reveal how the Sun shines

An experiment has measured the energy spectrum of solar neutrinos associated with 99% of the nuclear reactions that power the Sun. The results provide a glimpse into the depths of the solar core.

Aldo Serenelli⁰

Aldo Serenelli
1. Aldo Serenelli is in the Astrophysics and Planetary Sciences Department, Institute of Space Sciences (CSIC), and at the Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya, Bellaterra 08193, Spain.
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Energy is generated in the interior of the Sun through sequences of nuclear reactions in which four protons fuse together to form a helium-4 nucleus. These sequences are accompanied by the release of two particles known as electron neutrinos. Models suggest that 99% of the nuclear energy released by the Sun originates from three reaction sequences — collectively known as the proton–proton (pp) chain — that are initiated by the fusion of two protons. In a paper in Nature, the Borexino Collaboration¹ reports the first complete measurement of neutrino fluxes that originate from these three sequences, based on an analysis of more than 2,000 days of data collection. The results help us to understand the details of how and why the Sun shines.

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Nature 562, 496-497 (2018)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-07099-1

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