Solar Neutrino Emission Deduced from a Seismic Model

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Abstract
Three helioseismic instruments on the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory have observed the Sun almost continuously since early 1996. This has led to detailed study of the biases induced by the instruments that measure intensity or Doppler velocity variation. Photospheric turbulence hardly influences the tiny signature of conditions in the energy-generating core in the low-order modes, which are therefore very informative. We use sound-speed and density profiles inferred from GOLF and MDI data including these modes, together with recent improvements to stellar model computations, to build a spherically symmetric seismically adjusted model in agreement with the observations. The model is in hydrostatic and thermal balance and produces the present observed luminosity. In constructing the model, we adopt the best physics available, although we adjust some fundamental ingredients, well within the commonly estimated errors, such as the p-p reaction rate (+1%) and the heavy-element abundance (+3.5%); we also examine the sensitivity of the density profile to the nuclear reaction rates. Then, we deduce the corresponding emitted neutrino fluxes and consequently demonstrate that it is unlikely that the deficit of the neutrino fluxes measured on Earth can be explained by a spherically symmetric classical model without neutrino flavor transitions. Finally, we discuss the limitations of our results and future developments.