Abstract
Development of large mass detectors for low-energy neutrinos and dark matter may allow supernova detection via neutrino-nucleus elastic scattering. An elastic-scattering detector could observe a few, or more, events per ton for a galactic supernova at 10 kpc This large yield, a factor of at least 20 greater than that for existing light-water detectors, arises because of the very large coherent cross section and the sensitivity to all flavors of neutrinos and antineutrinos. An elastic scattering detector can provide important information on the flux and spectrum of and from supernovae. We consider many detectors and a range of target materials from to Monte Carlo simulations of low-energy backgrounds are presented for the liquid-neon-based Cryogenic Low Energy Astrophysics with Noble gases detector. The simulated background is much smaller than the expected signal from a galactic supernova.
- Received 5 February 2003
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.68.023005
©2003 American Physical Society