Solar Neutrino Production

Abstract

It is commonly and quite plausibly presumed that neutrino flavour transitions are responsible for essentially all of the discrepancy between the observed flux of neutrinos from the Sun and the theoretically calculated neutrino production rate. Indeed, the comparison between the detection rates by SuperKamiokande and by the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory are consistent with this presumption. Helioseismological analysis has set quite tight constraints on the conditions in the Sun’s core, where the neutrino-emitting nuclear reactions take place. These constraints have been obtained subject to certain assumptions which need to be investigated before secure precise conclusions concerning neutrino production can be drawn.