The Solar Neutrino Observatory: will the next Galactic
Supernovae provide evidence for Neutrino masses?
Pete Kernan
Physics and Statistics, Case Western Reserve University
A fundamental question in Physics, with great relevance to a variety
of areas of modern research, is whether the masses of neutrinos are
non-zero. In the Standard Model of Particle Physics the neutrinos
are necessarily massless. Physicists believe however that this
model is incomplete. A neutrino mass measurement would give great
insight into the deeper secrets of nature and subsequent direction
to the search for a Grand Unified Theory. A significant problem
is that neutrinos are very difficult to detect. However since
a supernovae emits 99% of its binding energy in the form of
neutrinos and naturally provides a long "beam length",
it may be possible to take advantage of one to get the great
flux of neutrinos and large travel times necessary for a mass
measurement. This talk will
concern itself with the possibility that the present generation
of neutrino telescopes could detect neutrino mass in the
event of a Galactic Supernovae. In the end the problem becomes
one of statistics, looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack.