Time-integrated supernova neutrino flux from a nearby cluster

Abstract

The rate of gravitational collapse (type II) supernovae in our galaxy is uncertain by a factor of three or more. One way to determine the galactic supernova rate is through a radiogeochemical experiment (for example, the molybdenum-technetium experiment) that would integrate the neutrino flux over several million years. While such a measurement is designed to integrate the flux over the entire galaxy, nearby star-forming regions could skew the results. We model the flux from a recently identified such region, the Scorpius-Centaurus OB association, and compare with the flux from the rest of the galaxy.