An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

A neutrino generated in the → Sun. The main source of solar neutrinos is the → proton-proton chain of reactions: 4 × p→ He + 2e⁺ + 2ν_e, in which an energy of +28 MeV is shared between the reaction products. These are called → low-energy neutrinos. There are less important reactions in the Sun yielding a smaller flux of higher energy neutrinos. The solar neutrino flux can be estimated from the → solar luminosity (L), as follows Since there are two neutrinos for each 28 MeV of energy, the neutrino flux at the Earth distance (d) is given by:

ν flux = 2Lsun/(28 MeV) × (1/4πd²) = 6 × 10¹⁰ cm^-2 s^-1. See also the → solar neutrino problem.

See also: → solar; → neutrino; → flux.