- Physical Review Journals
All JournalsPhysics Magazine

Physical Review Letters

Reuse & Permissions

It is not necessary to obtain permission to reuse this article or its components as it is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI are maintained. Please note that some figures may have been included with permission from other third parties. It is your responsibility to obtain the proper permission from the rights holder directly for these figures.

Export citation

Export citation

Choose format for download:

Download Citation
  • Featured in Physics
  • Editors' Suggestion
  • Open Access

First Indication of Solar B8 Neutrinos through Coherent Elastic Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering in PandaX-4T

Zihao Bo2, Wei Chen2, Xun Chen1,2,3,4, Yunhua Chen5,4, Zhaokan Cheng6, Xiangyi Cui1, Yingjie Fan7, Deqing Fang8, Zhixing Gao2 et al. (PandaX Collaboration)

Zhixing Gao2, Lisheng Geng9,10,11,12, Karl Giboni2,4, Xunan Guo9, Xuyuan Guo5,4, Zichao Guo9, Chencheng Han1, Ke Han2,4, Changda He2, Jinrong He5, Di Huang2, Houqi Huang13, Junting Huang2,4, Ruquan Hou3,4, Yu Hou14, Xiangdong Ji15, Xiangpan Ji16, Yonglin Ju14,4, Chenxiang Li2, Jiafu Li17, Mingchuan Li5,4, Shuaijie Li5,2,4, Tao Li6, Zhiyuan Li6, Qing Lin18,19,*, Jianglai Liu1,2,3,4,†, Congcong Lu14, Xiaoying Lu20,21, Lingyin Luo22, Yunyang Luo19, Wenbo Ma2, Yugang Ma8, Yajun Mao22, Yue Meng2,3,4,‡, Xuyang Ning2, Binyu Pang20,21, Ningchun Qi5,4, Zhicheng Qian2, Xiangxiang Ren20,21, Dong Shan16, Xiaofeng Shang2, Xiyuan Shao16, Guofang Shen9, Manbin Shen5,4, Wenliang Sun5,4, Yi Tao2,3, Anqing Wang20,21, Guanbo Wang2, Hao Wang2, Jiamin Wang1, Lei Wang23, Meng Wang20,21, Qiuhong Wang8, Shaobo Wang2,13,4, Siguang Wang22, Wei Wang6,17, Xiuli Wang14, Xu Wang1, Zhou Wang1,2,3,4, Yuehuan Wei6, Weihao Wu2,4, Yuan Wu2, Mengjiao Xiao2, Xiang Xiao17, Kaizhi Xiong5,4, Yifan Xu14, Shunyu Yao13, Binbin Yan1, Xiyu Yan24, Yong Yang2,4, Peihua Ye2, Chunxu Yu16, Ying Yuan2, Zhe Yuan8, Youhui Yun2, Xinning Zeng2, Minzhen Zhang1, Peng Zhang5,4, Shibo Zhang1, Shu Zhang17, Tao Zhang1,2,3,4, Wei Zhang1, Yang Zhang20,21, Yingxin Zhang20,21, Yuanyuan Zhang1, Li Zhao1,2,3,4, Jifang Zhou5,4, Jiaxu Zhou13, Jiayi Zhou1, Ning Zhou1,2,3,4,§, Xiaopeng Zhou9, Yubo Zhou2, and Zhizhen Zhou2 (PandaX Collaboration)

  • 1New Cornerstone Science Laboratory, Tsung-Dao Lee Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 201210, China
  • 2School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Key Laboratory for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology (MoE), Shanghai Key Laboratory for Particle Physics and Cosmology, Shanghai 200240, China
  • 3Shanghai Jiao Tong University Sichuan Research Institute, Chengdu 610213, China
  • 4Jinping Deep Underground Frontier Science and Dark Matter Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province
  • 5Yalong River Hydropower Development Company, Ltd., 288 Shuanglin Road, Chengdu 610051, China
  • 6Sino-French Institute of Nuclear Engineering and Technology, Sun Yat-Sen University, Zhuhai 519082, China
  • 7Department of Physics, Yantai University, Yantai 264005, China
  • 8Key Laboratory of Nuclear Physics and Ion-beam Application (MOE), Institute of Modern Physics, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
  • 9School of Physics, Beihang University, Beijing 102206, China
  • 10Peng Huanwu Collaborative Center for Research and Education, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
  • 11International Research Center for Nuclei and Particles in the Cosmos & Beijing Key Laboratory of Advanced Nuclear Materials and Physics, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
  • 12Southern Center for Nuclear-Science Theory (SCNT), Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Huizhou 516000, China
  • 13SJTU Paris Elite Institute of Technology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
  • 14School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
  • 15Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA
  • 16School of Physics, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
  • 17School of Physics, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
  • 18State Key Laboratory of Particle Detection and Electronics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
  • 19Department of Modern Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
  • 20Research Center for Particle Science and Technology, Institute of Frontier and Interdisciplinary Science, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China
  • 21Key Laboratory of Particle Physics and Particle Irradiation of Ministry of Education, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China
  • 22School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
  • 23College of Nuclear Technology and Automation Engineering, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059, China
  • 24School of Physics and Astronomy, Sun Yat-Sen University, Zhuhai 519082, China

  • *Contact author: qinglin@ustc.edu.cn
  • †PandaX Spokesperson: jianglai.liu@sjtu.edu.cn
  • ‡Contact author: mengyue@sjtu.edu.cn
  • §Contact author: nzhou@sjtu.edu.cn
PDF

Phys. Rev. Lett. 133, 191001 – Published 7 November, 2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.133.191001

Abstract

The PandaX-4T liquid xenon detector at the China Jinping Underground Laboratory is used to measure the solar B8 neutrino flux by detecting neutrinos through coherent scattering with xenon nuclei. Data samples requiring the coincidence of scintillation and ionization signals (paired), as well as unpaired ionization-only signals (US2), are selected with energy threshold of approximately 1.1 keV (0.33 keV) nuclear recoil energy. Combining the commissioning run and the first science run of PandaX-4T, a total exposure of 1.20 and 1.04  tonne·year are collected for the paired and US2, respectively. After unblinding, 3 and 332 events are observed with an expectation of 2.8±0.5 and 251±32 background events, for the paired and US2 data, respectively. A combined analysis yields a best-fit B8 neutrino signal of 3.5 (75) events from the paired (US2) data sample, with ∼37% uncertainty, and the background-only hypothesis is disfavored at 2.64σ significance. This gives a solar B8 neutrino flux of (8.4±3.1)×106  cm−2 s−1, consistent with the standard solar model prediction. It is also the first indication of solar B8 neutrino “fog” in a dark matter direct detection experiment.

View figure in article

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Collections

This article appears in the following collection:

PRL Collection of the Year 2024

Here is our Collection of the Year 2024. We have gathered about one issue’s worth of Letters, representative of the wide range of interests of the communities advancing fundamental and applied physical science. We plan to have such a collection each year.

Research News

First Glimpses of the Neutrino Fog

Published 7 November, 2024

Two dark matter searches report that their detectors have likely recorded neutrinos coming from the Sun—spotting the “neutrino fog” that could imperil future dark matter searches.

See more in Physics

See Also

First Indication of Solar B8 Neutrinos via Coherent Elastic Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering with XENONnT

E. Aprile et al. (XENON Collaboration)
Phys. Rev. Lett. 133, 191002 (2024)

Article Text

References (57)

  1. A. Drukier and L. Stodolsky, Phys. Rev. D 30, 2295 (1984).
  2. D. Z. Freedman, Phys. Rev. D 9, 1389 (1974).
  3. M. W. Goodman and E. Witten, Phys. Rev. D 31, 3059 (1985).
  4. D. Akimov, J. Albert, P. An, C. Awe, P. Barbeau, B. Becker, V. Belov, A. Brown, A. Bolozdynya, B. Cabrera-Palmer et al., Science 357, 1123 (2017).
  5. D. Akimov, J. B. Albert, P. An, C. Awe, P. Barbeau, B. Becker, V. Belov, M. Blackston, A. Bolozdynya, B. Cabrera-Palmer et al., Phys. Rev. D 100, 115020 (2019).
  6. D. Akimov, J. Albert, P. An, C. Awe, P. Barbeau, B. Becker, V. Belov, I. Bernardi, M. Blackston, L. Blokland et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 126, 012002 (2021).
  7. S. Adamski, M. Ahn, P. Barbeau, V. Belov, I. Bernardi, C. Bock, A. Bolozdynya, R. Bouabid, J. Browning, B. Cabrera-Palmer et al., arXiv:2406.13806.
  8. J. Billard, E. Figueroa-Feliciano, and L. Strigari, Phys. Rev. D 89, 023524 (2014).
  9. C. A. J. O’Hare, Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 251802 (2021).
  10. Y. Meng, Z. Wang, Y. Tao, A. Abdukerim, Z. Bo, W. Chen, X. Chen, Y. Chen, C. Cheng, Y. Cheng et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 261802 (2021).
  11. E. Aprile, K. Abe, F. Agostini, S. Ahmed Maouloud, L. Althueser, B. Andrieu, E. Angelino, J. Angevaare, V. Antochi, D. Antón Martin et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 131, 041003 (2023).
  12. J. Aalbers, D. Akerib, C. Akerlof, A. Al Musalhi, F. Alder, A. Alqahtani, S. Alsum, C. Amarasinghe, A. Ames, T. Anderson et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 131, 041002 (2023).
  13. B. Aharmim et al. (SNO Collaboration), Phys. Rev. C 88, 025501 (2013).
  14. M. Anderson, S. Andringa, S. Asahi, M. Askins, D. Auty, N. Barros, D. Bartlett, F. Barão, R. Bayes, E. Beier et al., Phys. Rev. D 99, 012012 (2019).
  15. K. Abe et al. (Super-Kamiokande Collaboration), Phys. Rev. D 94, 052010 (2016).
  16. M. Agostini, K. Altenmüller, S. Appel, V. Atroshchenko, Z. Bagdasarian, D. Basilico, G. Bellini, J. Benziger, D. Bick, D. Bravo et al., Phys. Rev. D 101, 062001 (2020).
  17. S. Abe, K. Furuno, A. Gando, Y. Gando, K. Ichimura, H. Ikeda, K. Inoue, Y. Kibe, W. Kimura, Y. Kishimoto et al., Phys. Rev. C 84, 035804 (2011).
  18. A. Burrows, D. Klein, and R. Gandhi, Phys. Rev. D 45, 3361 (1992).
  19. R. F. Lang, C. McCabe, S. Reichard, M. Selvi, and I. Tamborra, Phys. Rev. D 94, 103009 (2016).
  20. J. Aalbers, S. AbdusSalam, K. Abe, V. Aerne, F. Agostini, S. A. Maouloud, D. Akerib, D. Y. Akimov, J. Akshat, A. Al Musalhi et al., J. Phys. G 50, 013001 (2022).
  21. B. Pang et al., Chin. Phys. C 48, 073002 (2024).
  22. B. Cañas, E. Garcés, O. Miranda, and A. Parada, Phys. Lett. B 784, 159 (2018).
  23. J. Barranco, O. G. Miranda, and T. I. Rashba, Phys. Rev. D 76, 073008 (2007).
  24. A. J. Anderson, J. M. Conrad, E. Figueroa-Feliciano, C. Ignarra, G. Karagiorgi, K. Scholberg, M. H. Shaevitz, and J. Spitz, Phys. Rev. D 86, 013004 (2012).
  25. C. von Raesfeld and P. Huber, Phys. Rev. D 105, 056002 (2022).
  26. K.-J. Kang, J.-P. Cheng, Y.-H. Chen, Y. Li, M. Shen, S. Wu, and Q. Yue, J. Phys. Conf. Ser. 203, 012028 (2010).
  27. J. Li, X. Ji, W. Haxton, and J. S. Wang, Phys. Procedia 61, 576 (2015).
  28. C. He, J. Liu, X. Ren, X. Shang, X. Wei, M. Wang, J. Yang, Y. Yang, G. Zhang, and Q. Zheng, J. Instrum. 16, T12015 (2021).
  29. R. Yan, Z. Wang, X. Cui, Y. Ju, H. Sha, S. Li, P. Huang, X. Wang, W. Ma, Y. Fan et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 92. 123303 (2021).
  30. L. Zhao, X. Cui, W. Ma, Y. Fan, K. Giboni, T. Zhang, J. Liu, and X. Ji, J. Instrum. 16, T06007 (2021).
  31. E. Aprile, J. Aalbers, F. Agostini, S. Ahmed Maouloud, M. Alfonsi, L. Althueser, F. Amaro, S. Andaloro, V. C. Antochi, E. Angelino et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 126, 091301 (2021).
  32. W. Ma, A. Abdukerim, C. Cheng, Z. Bo, W. Chen, X. Chen, Y. Chen, Z. Cheng, X. Cui, Y. Fan et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 130, 021802 (2023).
  33. Y. Luo et al., Phys. Rev. D 110, 023029 (2024).
  34. S. Li, M. Wu, A. Abdukerim, Z. Bo, W. Chen, X. Chen, Y. Chen, C. Cheng, Z. Cheng, X. Cui et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 130, 261001 (2023).
  35. X. Ning et al., Nature (London) 618, 47 (2023).
  36. D. Huang, A. Abdukerim, Z. Bo, W. Chen, X. Chen, C. Cheng, Z. Cheng, X. Cui, Y. Fan, D. Fang et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 131, 191002 (2023).
  37. Y. Tao et al., arXiv:2408.00664.
  38. D. Akerib, S. Alsum, H. Araújo, X. Bai, J. Balajthy, A. Baxter, E. Bernard, A. Bernstein, T. Biesiadzinski, E. Boulton et al., Phys. Rev. D 102, 092004 (2020).
  39. P. Sorensen and K. Kamdin, J. Instrum. 13, P02032 (2018).
  40. P. Sorensen, arXiv:1702.04805.
  41. D. Akerib, S. Alsum, H. Araújo, X. Bai, J. Balajthy, J. Bang, A. Baxter, E. Bernard, A. Bernstein, T. Biesiadzinski et al., Phys. Rev. D 104, 012011 (2021).
  42. J. Li et al., Chin. Phys. C 48, 073001 (2024).
  43. J. N. Bahcall, A. M. Serenelli, and S. Basu, Astrophys. J. 621, L85 (2005).
  44. J. N. Bahcall, E. Lisi, D. E. Alburger, L. De Braeckeleer, S. J. Freedman, and J. Napolitano, Phys. Rev. C 54, 411 (1996).
  45. B. Acharya, M. Aliotta, A. Balantekin, D. Bemmerer, C. Bertulani, A. Best, C. Brune, R. Buompane, F. Cavanna, J. Chen et al., arXiv:2405.06470.
  46. F. Ruppin, J. Billard, E. Figueroa-Feliciano, and L. Strigari, Phys. Rev. D 90, 083510 (2014).
  47. M. Szydagis, J. Balajthy, J. Brodsky, J. Cutter, J. Huang, E. Kozlova, B. Lenardo, A. Manalaysay, D. McKinsey, M. Mooney et al., Zenodo: Geneve, Switzerland (2018), 10.5281/zenodo.1314499.
  48. M. Szydagis, J. Balajthy, G. Block, J. Brodsky, E. Brown, J. Cutter, S. Farrell, J. Huang, E. Kozlova, C. Liebenthal et al., arXiv:2211.10726.

  49. Using the latest version of NEST (v2.4.0) makes negligible difference in both the signal spectral shape and rate compared to NEST v2.3.6 we used.

  50. D. Akerib, S. Alsum, H. Araújo, X. Bai, A. Bailey, J. Balajthy, P. Beltrame, E. Bernard, A. Bernstein, T. Biesiadzinski et al., arXiv:1608.05381.
  51. D. Huang, Ph.D. thesis, Brown University, 2020, https://doi.org/10.26300/zvs6-fx07.
  52. B. Lenardo, J. Xu, S. Pereverzev, O. A. Akindele, D. Naim, J. Kingston, A. Bernstein, K. Kazkaz, M. Tripathi, C. Awe et al., arXiv:1908.00518.
  53. G. Cowan, K. Cranmer, E. Gross, and O. Vitells, Eur. Phys. J. C 71, 1 (2011).
  54. N. Vinyoles, A. M. Serenelli, F. L. Villante, S. Basu, J. Bergström, M. Gonzalez-Garcia, M. Maltoni, C. Peña-Garay, and N. Song, Astrophys. J. 835, 202 (2017).
  55. A. Abdukerim et al. (PandaX Collaboration), arXiv:2402.03596.
  56. E. Aprile, J. Aalbers, K. Abe, S. A. Maouloud, L. Althueser, B. Andrieu, E. Angelino, D. A. Martin, F. Arneodo, L. Baudis et al., following Letter, Phys. Rev. Lett. 133, 191002 (2024).
  57. A. Abdukerim, W. Chen, X. Chen, Y. Chen, C. Cheng, X. Cui, Y. Fan, D. Fang, C. Fu, M. Fu et al., Chin. Phys. C 46, 103001 (2022).

Outline

Information

Phys. Rev. Lett. 133, 191001– Published 7 November, 2024
  • Received 17 July 2024
  • Revised 5 September 2024
  • Accepted 11 September 2024
Crossmark - Check for updates button
Creative Commons Logo

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI. Funded by SCOAP3.

Published by the American Physical Society

Sign In to Your Journals Account

Filter

Filter

Article Lookup

Enter a citation