Measuring Supernova Neutrino Temperatures using Lead Perchlorate

Abstract

Neutrino interactions with lead produce neutrons in numbers that depend on neutrino energy and type. A detector based on lead perchlorate, for example, would be able to measure the energy deposited by electrons and gammas in coincidence with the number of neutrons produced. Sorting the electron energy spectra by the number of coincident neutrons permits the identification of the neutrino type that induced the reaction. This separation allows an analysis which can determine the temperatures of electron neutrinos and electron anti-neutrinos from a supernova in one experiment. The neutrino reaction signatures of lead perchlorate and the fundamentals of using this material as a neutrino detector are described.