A closer look at the pp-chain reaction in the Sun: constraining the coupling of light mediators to protons
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A closer look at the pp-chain reaction in the Sun : constraining the coupling of light mediators to protons. / Suliga, Anna M.; Shalgar, Shashank; Fuller, George M.
I: Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, Bind 2021, Nr. 7, 042, 15.07.2021.Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskrift › Tidsskriftartikel › Forskning › fagfællebedømt
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TY - JOUR
T1 - A closer look at the pp-chain reaction in the Sun
T2 - constraining the coupling of light mediators to protons
AU - Suliga, Anna M.
AU - Shalgar, Shashank
AU - Fuller, George M.
PY - 2021/7/15
Y1 - 2021/7/15
N2 - The pp-chain of nuclear reactions is the primary route for energy production in the Sun. The first step in that reaction sequence converts two protons to a deuterium nucleus with the emission of a positron and electron neutrino. This reaction is extremely slow because it is a weak interaction, and significantly, it involves quantum tunneling through the Coulomb barrier. Though the reaction rate can be calculated with high confidence in the Standard Model, it has not been measured at solar energies. If there exist interactions that are engendered by non-standard mediators then the rate of this reaction in the Sun could be altered. We probe such non-standard interactions by comparing calculations of solar evolution to the current solar system age in the presence and absence of the non-standard mediators. These reveal ranges of non-standard mediator mass and couplings that are inconsistent with measured properties of the Sun, including solar neutrino results. Our constraints on these non-standard parameters, in many cases overlapping those derived via other considerations, could be extended further with better confidence in the value of the metalicity of the Sun and the solar neutrino CNO flux. Intriguingly, our work reveals a degeneracy between the solar metalicity and the presence of the invoked non-standard mediators.
AB - The pp-chain of nuclear reactions is the primary route for energy production in the Sun. The first step in that reaction sequence converts two protons to a deuterium nucleus with the emission of a positron and electron neutrino. This reaction is extremely slow because it is a weak interaction, and significantly, it involves quantum tunneling through the Coulomb barrier. Though the reaction rate can be calculated with high confidence in the Standard Model, it has not been measured at solar energies. If there exist interactions that are engendered by non-standard mediators then the rate of this reaction in the Sun could be altered. We probe such non-standard interactions by comparing calculations of solar evolution to the current solar system age in the presence and absence of the non-standard mediators. These reveal ranges of non-standard mediator mass and couplings that are inconsistent with measured properties of the Sun, including solar neutrino results. Our constraints on these non-standard parameters, in many cases overlapping those derived via other considerations, could be extended further with better confidence in the value of the metalicity of the Sun and the solar neutrino CNO flux. Intriguingly, our work reveals a degeneracy between the solar metalicity and the presence of the invoked non-standard mediators.
KW - solar and atmospheric neutrinos
KW - solar physics
KW - LOW-MASS STARS
KW - ELEMENT CONVERSIONS
KW - SOLAR
KW - NEUTRINOS
KW - SEARCH
KW - DECAYS
KW - FUSION
KW - BOSONS
KW - BOUNDS
U2 - 10.1088/1475-7516/2021/07/042
DO - 10.1088/1475-7516/2021/07/042
M3 - Journal article
VL - 2021
JO - Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
JF - Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
SN - 1475-7516
IS - 7
M1 - 042
ER -
ID: 276703917