NIAC 2021 - Construction of CubeSat for Test of Neutrino Detector in Space

 Nickolas Solomey

Notes by Paul Fischer

Wichita State University

Construction of CubeSat for Test of Neutrino Detector in Space

In collaboration with Wichita St. U, UMinn and …

The phase 1 conclusion would determine that you only need a kg or less

The neutrinos on the sun would react with germanium 61 after reaction of galactic rays and cosmic gamma rays, looking for the double delayed incidence, that coincidinnced 

Improve simulations of detector

Build and test prototypes

First neutrino space fraft mission analysis

Constraints of 350 million and less than five years

Prototype detector was surrounded by a veto array and operate in the cosmic ray test stand 

We found exceptional rejection and resolution

Phase 2 demonstrated good energy resolution for gamma and depending on the thresholds in the liquid simulator with less than 2% veto failure rate

Thus the coincidence of the  galactic cosmic events was favorable for use

Distance of spacecraft from sun, as cosmic backgrounds are dominant on earth but neutrino signals exist closer to the sun, allowing exceptionally good science performance

The development of the solar probe plus spacecraft was one and a half billion dollars, and we felt that this detector in space would be functional

In the mid 80’s we designed and launched the gammaray observatory, 25 years later, the galactic plot demonstrates that in 1992 the EGRET spacecraft was groundbreaking by showing gamma ray activity

We hoped to demonstrate that a solar probe would function as it reached close to the sun

So we developed electromagnetic shield with cost and time efficiencies

The shield includes a radiation shield, neutrino detectors and instrument casing that would be deployed within the spacecraft

The mission study was the launch from earth and every time we went around the orbit closer to Venus we went closer and closer to the sun

Mission study: cost for falcon heavy launch, complete spacecraft and five years of operations

Phase three has been to build a cubist with the the eventual goal to measure incidence rays and theorems and a requirement of being within 4kg

The history of the project began in 2015 while NIAC has funded this to 92%

We have a long ways to go…

Q: could this detector function from earth?

A: no, an accelerator beam would be far too narrow with a thousand times too much energy, mostly anti-neutrino reactors and we are looking for solar neutrinos that are more difficult to detect

Q:App to energy in the core of the sun in solar flares?

A: neutrinos with solar flares reach earth only in 8 minutes as opposed to over a thousand years for the energy from the core of the sun

Q: would a balloon flight be adequate?

A: not a high enough altitude to deal with galactic cosmic and gamma ray real rates. the goal of the cube sat is to make sure it works in space, and to ensure it makes these double incidences exist in background events

Q: would the neutrino detector be tested on the cubesat?

A: no. a sodium 22 source could be use, but an intense source would be needed, and that would be prohibitive to safety

Q: launch vehicle selection and if starship has been considered?

A: the falcon heavy was the most cost-effective choice

Q: G-lens could concentrate the …

A: originally there was only a search from dark matter by going far from the sun and taking dark matter close to the sun, we found after a calculation with an undergrad student that we could take only about two times bigger than the moon, then we could get about 8000 times intense neutrinos from the galactic core, allowing a high concentration of the galactic core neutrinos… look at the real-time concentration within the galactic core, or in the planet Neptune or Uranus as a possibility of application

Q: any possibiility of neutrino cores or galactic cores, remember that we go much closer to the sun and any neutrino at seven solar radii, and the discussion over where the neutrino zones are in the sun, and determine if there are dark matter collections within the sun, where is the proton, proton fusion occurring… this internal structure of the helioregions of the sun remains one of the largest questions in the scientific community.