A Semi-Analytical Computation of the Theoretical Uncertainties of the Solar Neutrino Flux

Abstract

We present a comparison between Monte Carlo simulations and a semi-analytical approach that reproduces the theoretical probability distribution functions of the solar neutrino fluxes, stemming from the $pp$, $pep$, $hep$, $^7\mathrm{Be}$, $^8\mathrm{B}$, $^{13}\mathrm{N}$, $^{15}\mathrm{O}$, and $^{17}\mathrm{F}$ source reactions. We obtain good agreement between the two approaches. Thus, the semi-analytical method yields confidence intervals that closely match those found, based on Monte Carlo simulations, and points towards the same general symmetries of the investigated probability distribution functions. Furthermore, the negligible computational cost of this method is a clear advantage over Monte Carlo simulations, making it trivial to take new observational constraints on the input parameters into account.