Supernova Neutrino Scattering off Gadolinium Even Isotopes in Water Cherenkov Detectors

Abstract

Neutrinos in water can be detected thanks to several reactions. The most important one is the inverse beta decay $\bar\nu_{e}+p \rightarrow n+e^{+}$ . The detection of 2.2 MeV from neutron capture on free protons is very difficult. The feasibility of Gadolinium (Gd) doping in water Cherenkov detectors essentially reduces background signals and enhances the sensitivity to neutrino detection. In this work, the supernova neutrino charged-current interactions with the most abundant Gd even isotopes (A=156,158 and 160) are studied. We use measured spectra and the quasiparticle random phase approximation to calculate the charged current response of Gd isotopes to supernova neutrinos. Flux-averaged cross sections are obtained considering quasi-thermal neutrino spectra.