Pre-supernova Alert System for Super-Kamiokande
The Astrophysical Journal American Astronomical Society 935:1 (2022) 40-40
Abstract:
In 2020, the Super-Kamiokande (SK) experiment moved to a new stage (SK-Gd) in which gadolinium (Gd) sulfate octahydrate was added to the water in the detector, enhancing the efficiency to detect thermal neutrons and consequently improving the sensitivity to low energy electron anti-neutrinos from inverse beta decay (IBD) interactions. SK-Gd has the potential to provide early alerts of incipient core-collapse supernovae through detection of electron anti-neutrinos from thermal and nuclear processes responsible for the cooling of massive stars before the gravitational collapse of their cores. These pre-supernova neutrinos emitted during the silicon burning phase can exceed the energy threshold for IBD reactions. We present the sensitivity of SK-Gd to pre-supernova stars and the techniques used for the development of a pre-supernova alarm based on the detection of these neutrinos in SK, as well as prospects for future SK-Gd phases with higher concentrations of Gd. For the current SK-Gd phase, high-confidence alerts for Betelgeuse could be issued up to 9 hr in advance of the core collapse itselfSearch for supernova bursts in Super-Kamiokande IV
(2022)
Search for solar electron anti-neutrinos due to spin-flavor precession in the Sun with Super-Kamiokande-IV
Astroparticle Physics Elsevier 139 (2022) 102702
Pre-Supernova Alert System for Super-Kamiokande
(2022)
First gadolinium loading to Super-Kamiokande
Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A Accelerators Spectrometers Detectors and Associated Equipment Elsevier 1027 (2022) 166248