E. Meroni

Scintillation decay time and pulse shape discrimination of binary organic liquid scintillators for the Borexino detector

Abstract The installation of a massive liquid scintillator detector, Borexino, devoted to the real time detection of low energy solar neutrinos, has been recently proposed at the Laboratory of Gran Sasso. The key features of this next generation solar neutrino experiment crucially rely upon the properties of the liquid scintillator used as detection medium. Thus a careful evaluation of these properties has been carried out. In particular we describe here the results of the measurements performed to determine the decay time of the scintillation light pulse for alpha and electron excitation in different solvents and solutes suitable to be used in the detector.

Search for modulations of the solar Be-7 flux in the next-generation neutrino observatory LENA

A next-generation liquid-scintillator detector will be able to perform high-statistics measurements of the solar neutrino flux. In LENA, solar {sup 7}Be neutrinos are expected to cause 1.7x10{sup 4} electron recoil events per day in a fiducial volume of 35 kilotons. Based on this signal, a search for periodic modulations on a subpercent level can be conducted, surpassing the sensitivity of current detectors by at least a factor of 20. The range of accessible periods reaches from several minutes, corresponding to modulations induced by helioseismic g-modes, to tens of years, allowing to study long-term changes in solar fusion rates.

A new solar neutrino detector

Abstract This paper describes the main features of the proposed low energy solar neutrino detector Borexino, planned to be installed at the Gran Sasso Laboratory. This real time detector is based on a massive, calorimetric, liquid scintillation spectroscopy technique, whose high luminosity is the base for the attempt to achieve a low signal detection threshold. After a description of the main structural components of the detector, of its performances in term of spatial and energy resolution, and of the neutrino reactions occurring in the liquid scintillator, a description of the crucial background topic is given. Finally the main implications of the physics program of the experiment are briefly illustrated.

Live Targets as a Tool to Study Short Range Phenomena in Elementary Particle Physics

In this paper the use of Silicon detectors as live targets in high energy physics is discussed. The development of this technique is being carried on by the group of Milan since 1968 in three different field of physics: coherent production on nuclei, short lifetime measurements, trigger on charm particles.

A new detector for solar neutrino

Abstract The design of a new neutrino detector, Borex, is illustrated in this paper. The main experimental features of this detector along with its principal physical goals are thoroughly discussed. The key features of the liquid scintillation spectroscopy detection technique adopted in the design of the detector are deeply explained. The main advantages of this technique, i.s. high energy resolution, low detection threshold, ability to distinguish between different neutrino detection modes, background discrimination, make Borex a powerful and flexible experimental tool able to test and measure the flux, the flavor content, the energy spectrum, the antineutrino content of the solar neutrino flux arriving at Earth. Borex is thus equipped to probe completely the particle physics of solar neutrinos. Due to its characteristics, this experiment, planned to be carried out at the Gran Sasso Laboratory, is expected to be a fundamental step towardsthe solution of the solar neutrino problem.