Detection of astrophysical neutrinos at prospective locations of dark matter detectors

Abstract

We study the prospects for detection of solar and atmospheric neutrino fluxes at future large-scale dark matter detectors through both electron and nuclear recoils. We specifically examine how the detection prospects change for several prospective detector locations (SURF, SNOlab, Gran Sasso, CJPL, and Kamioka), and improve upon the statistical methodologies used in previous studies. Due to its ability to measure lower neutrino energies than other locations, we find that the best prospects for the atmospheric neutrino flux are at the SURF location, while the prospects are weakest at CJPL because it is restricted to higher neutrino energies. On the contrary, the prospects for the diffuse supernova neutrino background (DSNB) are best at CJPL, due largely to the reduced atmospheric neutrino background at this location. Including full detector resolution and efficiency models, the CNO component of the solar flux is detectable via the electron recoil channel with exposures of $\sim 10^3$ ton-yr for all locations. These results highlight the benefits for employing two detector locations, one at high and one at low latitude.