LBNL Image Library -- Collection BERKELEY-LAB/PARTICLE-DETECTION/SUDBURY-NEUTRINO-OBSERVATORY

Computer simulation depicts solar neutrino event at SNO

Image File

96703210

Title

Computer simulation depicts solar neutrino event at SNO

Description

A computer simulation depicts a solar neutrino event at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory. This image depicts a typical solar neutrino event in SNO. Neutrinos are weakly interacting particles that easily penetrate the earth. SNO has developed a large water Cerenkov detector using heavy water (D2O) as the target. The heavy water is contained in a 6m radius acrylic vessel. Occasionally a neutrino will interact in the heavy water and produce a small burst of light. To observe this light an array of sensitive light detectors (photomultiplier tubes or PMTs) surround the target and collect the light, converting it into electrical signals which are feed into SNOÕs data acquisition computers. This image presents a computer simulation of a typical solar neutrino event in SNO. The neutrino has interacted with the a deuterium nucleus, converting a neutron into a proton and an electron. The electron recoils with enough energy to produce Cerenkov light in the water which is detected by the array of PMTs. Each yellow line segment represents a Cerenkov photon, the yellow hexagons are PMTs which detected a photon, and the geodesic sphere support structure is highlighted in magenta.

Citation Caption

LBL Research Review, Vol. 17, No. 1, Spring 1992, p. 36| A computer simulation depicts a solar neutrino event at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory. A neutrino captured by a deuterium nucleus produces an energetic electron, which in turn generates Cerenkov light. This light is viewed by an array of nearly 10,000 photomultiplier tubes, placed in a geodesic support structure.

Date

January 1992

Division

Nuclear Science Division

TEID Doc ID

XBD 9607-03210.TIF