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Published March 16, 1964 | Published
Journal Article Open

Solar Neutrinos. I. Theoretical

Abstract

The principal energy source for main-sequence stars like the sun is believed to be the fusion, in the deep interior of the star, of four protons to form an alpha particle. The fusion reactions are thought to be initiated by the sequence ^1H(p, e^(+)v)^2H(p,γ)^(3)He and terminated by the following sequences: (i) ^(3)He(^(3)He, 2p)^(4)He; (ii) ^(3)He(α,γ)^(7)Be(e^(-)v)^(7)Li(p,α)^(4)He; and (iii) ^(3)He(α,γ)^(7)Be(p,γ)^(8)B(e^(+)v)^(8)Be*(α)^(4)He. No direct evidence for the existence of nuclear reactions in the interiors of stars has yet been obtained because the mean free path for photons emitted in the center of a star is typically less than 10^(-10) of the radius of the star. Only neutrinos, with their extremely small interaction cross sections, can enable us to see into the interior of a star and thus verify directly the hypothesis of nuclear energy generation in stars.

Additional Information

© 1964 The American Physical Society. Received 6 January 1964; published in the issue dated 16 March 1964. The author is grateful to the entire staff of Kellogg Radiation Laboratory for enthusiastic support and stimulating comments. It is a pleasure to acknowledge many valuable suggestions by R. Davis, Jr. Work supported in part by the U. S. Office of Naval Research and in part by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

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August 19, 2023
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