Model Independent Determination of the Solar Neutrino Spectrum with and without MSW

Abstract

Besides the opportunity for discovering new neutrino physics, solar neutrino measurements provide a sensitive probe of the solar interior, and thus a rigorous test of solar model predictions. We present model independent determinations of the neutrino spectrum by using relevant flux components as free parameters subject only to the luminosity constraint. (1) Without the Mikheyev-Smirnov-Wolfenstein (MSW) effect, the best fit for the combined data is poor. Furthermore, the data indicate a severe suppression of the $^7$Be flux relative to the $^8$B, contradicting both standard and nonstandard solar models in general; the $pp$ flux takes its maximum value allowed by the luminosity constraint. This pathology consistently appears even if we ignore any one of the three data. (2) In the presence of the two-flavor MSW effect, the current constraint on the initial $^8$B flux is weak, but consistent with the SSM and sufficient to exclude nonstandard models with small $^8$B fluxes. No meaningful constraint is obtained for the other fluxes. In the future, even allowing MSW, the $^8$B and $^7$Be fluxes can be determined at the $\pm$(15 -- 20)\% level, making competing solar models distinguishable. We emphasize that the neutral current sensitivity for $^7$Be neutrinos in BOREXINO, HELLAZ, and HERON is essential for determining the initial fluxes. The constraints on the MSW parameters in the model independent analysis are also discussed.