Pre-Supernova Alert System for Super-Kamiokande with Gadolinium
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Abstract:
The current phase of the Super-Kamiokande experiment, SK-Gd, is character-
ized by the addition of gadolinium sulfate to the water Cherenkov detector, which
improves the detection capability of thermal neutrons. For low energy events,
the main detection channel for electron anti-neutrinos is the Inverse Beta Decay
interaction, which has, in its final state, a positron and a neutron. The neutron
thermal capture by gadolinium emits an 8 MeV gamma-ray cascade, improving the
identification of the products of this process. This improved identification reduces
the background for low energy events, allowing the analysis of neutrinos with en-
ergies below the usual Super-Kamiokande thresholds. One possible detection by
SK-Gd is the neutrinos coming from pre-Supernova stars, which correspond to
the last evolutionary state of massive stars before core-collapse Supernova. Dur-
ing this stage, pair annihilation and beta decay processes are the main cooling
mechanisms of the massive stars, emitting high fluxes of electron anti-neutrinos.
Their detection could provide an early warning for core-collapse Supernovae. The
techniques for the development of the pre-Supernova alert system for SK-Gd are
presented in this thesis.- KAMIOKANDE
- gadolinium: admixture
- Cherenkov counter: water
- antineutrino/e: particle identification
- neutrino: supernova
- n: capture
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