Feasibility of detection of solar neutrinos and other astrophysical particles using superconducting filaments

Abstract

Neutrinos from the sun or from a supernova will scatter coherently from target nuclei, and the associated nuclear recoil energy could in principle be detected using the significant local temperature rise produced at low temperatures in materials with a negligible electronic specific heat. Heavy ‘dark matter’ particles such as photinos might also be detected in this way. Drukier and Stodolsky [7] have suggested the use of a target in the form of superheated grains of superconductor which would be switched to the resistive state by individual neutrino scattering events, producing small but detectable local magnetic flux changes. The present paper considers the alternative scheme of a target consisting of coils of fine single or multi-filament superconducting wires, allowing the local resistive transitions to be detected as voltage pulses at the coil input. Calculations are presented of neutrino event rate versus energy deposited as a function of the target (A, Z) value, and the required filament diameter as a function of temperature and recoil energy, taking into account the latent heat requirements of the superconductor at transition. The possibility of using electrically parallel arrays of filaments is analysed, and the magnitude of the external voltage pulse is estimated for a range of type 1 and type 2 superconducting materials, including the effect of propagation of the normal zone. It is concluded that measurable voltage signals could in general be obtained with both type 1 and type 2 superconductors, and for operating temperatures in the region 10–100 mK typical filament diameters would range from 10–40 micron (for 30 eV recoil energy sensitivity) 40–160 micron (for 3 keV recoil energy sensitivity).