First Measurement of Solar Neutrinos through Elastic Neutrino-Electron Scattering at the keV Scale
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: We report on the first measurement of low-energy solar neutrinos through elastic neutrino-electron scattering in a dark matter experiment, establishing the lowest energy threshold for any neutrino detection to date. The measurement utilizes data from the first two science runs of XENONnT, corresponding to an exposure of 2.46 t $\cdot$ y, and covers electron recoil energies between 1 keV and 140 keV, providing sensitivity to solar neutrinos with energies down to 17 keV. We reject the background-only hypothesis with a statistical significance of $5.0σ$ and measure a solar $pp$ neutrino flux of $(10.2 \pm 2.0) \times 10^{10}$ cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$. The result is larger, but statistically consistent with the previous measurement by Borexino at $1.9σ$. Together with recent observations of coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering of $^8$B solar neutrinos in XENONnT and other liquid-xenon time projection chambers, these results demonstrate the growing potential of liquid xenon detectors for neutrino physics down to the keV-scale and represent an important milestone towards a next-generation multipurpose observatory.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Authors: XENON Collaboration, Aprile, E., Aalbers, J., Abe, K., Rmilah, M. Abu, Adrover, M., Maouloud, S. Ahmed, Althueser, L., Andrieu, B., Angelino, E., Martin, D. Antón, Armbruster, S. R., Arneodo, F., Baudis, L., Bazyk, M., Beligotti, V., Bellagamba, L., Biondi, R., Boese, K., Braun, R. M., Bruni, G., Budnik, R., Cai, C., Capelli, C., Cardoso, J. M. R., Chávez, A. P. Cimental, Colijn, A. P., Conrad, J., Cuenca-García, J. J., Dai, H., D'Andrea, V., Garcia, L. C. Daniel, Decowski, M. P., Deisting, A., Di Donato, C., Di Gangi, P., Diglio, S., Eitel, K., Morabit, S. el, Elleboro, R., Elykov, A., Ferella, A. D., Ferrari, C., Fischer, H., Flehmke, T., Flierman, M., Frankel, R., Fuchs, D., Fulgione, W., Fuselli, C., Gao, F., Giacomobono, R., Glade-Beucke, R., Grandi, L., Grigat, J., Guida, M., Gyorgy, P., Hammann, R., Hils, C., Hoetzsch, L., Hood, N. F., Hurhina, A., Iacovacci, M., Itow, Y., Jakob, J., Joerg, F., Kaminaga, Y., Kazama, S., Kharbanda, P., Kobayashi, M., Koke, D., Kooshkjalali, K., Kopec, A., Kozlova, E, Landsman, H., Levinson, L., Li, A., Li, H., Li, I., Li, S., Liang, Z., Lin, Y. -T., Lindemann, S., Lindner, M., Liu, K., Liu, M., Lombardi, F., Lopes, J. A. M., Lucchetti, G. M., Luce, T., Ma, Y., Macolino, C., Madduri, G. C., Mahlstedt, J., Marignetti, F., Undagoitia, T. Marrodán, Martens, K., Masbou, J., Mastroianni, S., Mazza, V., Merz, J., Messina, M., Michel, A., Miuchi, K., Miyata, R., Molinario, A., Moriyama, S., Murra, M., Müller, J., Ni, K., Ishikawa, C. T. Oba, Oberlack, U., Otsuzuki, K., Ouahada, S., Paetsch, B., Pan, Y., Pellegrini, Q., Pienaar, J., Pierre, M., Plante, G., Pollmann, T. R., Pompa, F., Prajapati, A., Principe, L., Qin, J., Ravindran, A., Razeto, A., Sanchez, L., Santos, J. M. F. dos, Sarnoff, I., Sartorelli, G., Schiller, M. T., Schulte, P., Eißing, H. Schulze, Schumann, M., Lavina, L. Scotto, Selvi, M., Semeria, F., Semler, F. N., Shagin, P., Shen, X., Shi, S., Simgen, H., Song, Z., Stevens, A., Szyszka, C., Takeda, A., Takeuchi, Y., Tan, P. -L., Thers, D., Trinchero, G., Tunnell, C. D., Valerius, K., Vecchi, S., Vetter, S., Volta, G., von Krosigk, B., Weinheimer, C., Wenz, D., Wittweg, C., Wu, V. H. S., Xing, Y., Xu, D., Xu, Z., Yamashita, M., Yang, J., Yang, L., Ye, J., Yoshida, M., Zavattini, G., Zhao, Y., Zhong, M., Zhu, T.
Institutions: Columbia University, National Institute for Subatomic Physics, Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe, Institute for Cosmic Ray Research, Kamioka Observatory, The University of Tokyo, Weizmann Institute of Science, University of Zurich, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Sorbonne Université, Laboratoire de Physique Nucléaire et de Hautes Énergies, Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules, University of Münster, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, University of Chicago, Gran Sasso Science Institute, Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics, New York University Abu Dhabi, Laboratoire de Physique Subatomique et des Technologies Associées, IMT Atlantique, Nantes Université, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Bologna, University of Bologna, Tsinghua University, University of Coimbra, University of Amsterdam, Stockholm University, AlbaNova, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, University of L'Aquila, University of Freiburg, Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino, National Institute for Astrophysics, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Napoli, University of California San Diego, Institute of Science Tokyo, Institute for Space-Earth Environmental Research, Nagoya University, Kobayashi-Maskawa Institute for the Origin of Particles and the Universe, Nagoya University, Bucknell University, Westlake University, Rice University, Kobe University, Heidelberg University, University of Ferrara, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Ferrara
Language: English
Topic: Neutrino Physics Research
Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funders: National Science Foundation, European Commission, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung, Weizmann Institute of Science, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, Knut och Alice Wallenbergs Stiftelse, Tsinghua University, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, HORIZON EUROPE Framework Programme, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules
OpenAlex ID: W7204967385