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The solar composition problem has puzzled astrophysicists for more than 20 years. Recent measurements of carbon-nitrogen-oxygen (CNO) neutrinos by the Borexino experiment show a ∼2σ tension with the "low-metallicity" determinations. ^{14}N(p,γ)^{15}O, the slowest reaction in the CNO cycle, plays a crucial role in the standard solar model (SSM) calculations of CNO neutrino fluxes. Here we report a direct measurement of the ^{14}N(p,γ)^{15}O reaction, in which S-factors for all transitions were simultaneously determined in the energy range of E_{p}=110-260 keV for the first time. Our results resolve previous discrepancies in the ground-state transition, yielding a zero-energy S-factor S_{114}(0)=1.93±0.10 keV b, which is 15% higher than the 1.68±0.14 keV b recommended in Solar Fusion III (SF-III). With our S_{114} values, the SSM B23-MB22p, and the latest global analysis of solar neutrino measurements, the C and N photospheric abundance determined by the Borexino experiment is updated to N_{CN}=(4.42_{-0.63}^{+0.70})×10^{-4}. This new N_{CN} value agrees well with latest "high-metallicity" composition; however, it is also consistent with the "low-metallicity" determination within ∼1σ CL, indicating that the solar metallicity problem remains an open question. In addition, the significant reduction in the uncertainty of S_{114} paves the way for the precise determination of the CN abundance in future large-volume solar neutrino measurements.

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Publication Details

Journal
Physical Review Letters
Published
2025-11-06
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1103/q756-hzmt
Primary Topic
Nuclear physics research studies
Type
article
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Meng Qiu, Zhenxing Qin, Size Chen, Hongna Liu et al.
Physical Review Letters
Nuclear physics research studies
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Enhanced <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <mml:mi>S</mml:mi> </mml:math> -Factor for the <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mmultiscripts> <m

Meng Qiu, Zhenxing Qin, Size Chen, Hongna Liu, Jinrong He, Jia Dong, Weiping Lin, Wei Nan, Zhenzhong Shen, Y. P. Shen, Luo-Huan Wang, F. Lu, Y. Zhang, Y. T. Huang, Y. Q. Zhang, Yinji Chen, Yuqiu Gu, Yekai Lu, F. C. Liu, Chi Xu, Bingbing Guo, Zhu An, Y. B. Wang, Yuchen Jiang, Xiaomin Jiang, H. Li, Ziming Li, Y. D. Sheng, Bin Liao, Jun Su, Junjun Wei, Lichen Zhang, W. P. Liu, Z. H. Li, X. Y. Li, Hao Zhang, Junfeng Chen, Lin Shen, Xiangna Han, Feng-Shou Zhang, Shuo Wang, Dan Xiao, Shubo Jin, Jun-Wen Tian, Xin Chen, L Wang, Luyang Song
article en

Abstract

The solar composition problem has puzzled astrophysicists for more than 20 years. Recent measurements of carbon-nitrogen-oxygen (CNO) neutrinos by the Borexino experiment show a ∼2σ tension with the "low-metallicity" determinations. ^{14}N(p,γ)^{15}O, the slowest reaction in the CNO cycle, plays a crucial role in the standard solar model (SSM) calculations of CNO neutrino fluxes. Here we report a direct measurement of the ^{14}N(p,γ)^{15}O reaction, in which S-factors for all transitions were simultaneously determined in the energy range of E_{p}=110-260 keV for the first time. Our results resolve previous discrepancies in the ground-state transition, yielding a zero-energy S-factor S_{114}(0)=1.93±0.10 keV b, which is 15% higher than the 1.68±0.14 keV b recommended in Solar Fusion III (SF-III). With our S_{114} values, the SSM B23-MB22p, and the latest global analysis of solar neutrino measurements, the C and N photospheric abundance determined by the Borexino experiment is updated to N_{CN}=(4.42_{-0.63}^{+0.70})×10^{-4}. This new N_{CN} value agrees well with latest "high-metallicity" composition; however, it is also consistent with the "low-metallicity" determination within ∼1σ CL, indicating that the solar metallicity problem remains an open question. In addition, the significant reduction in the uncertainty of S_{114} paves the way for the precise determination of the CN abundance in future large-volume solar neutrino measurements.

Physical Review LettersVol. 135(23)
Handan College (CN), Harbin Engineering University (CN), Shandong University (CN), Sichuan University (CN), Fudan University (CN), Beijing Normal University (CN), China Academy of Engineering Physics (CN), Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (CN), Southern University of Science and Technology (CN), China Institute of Atomic Energy (CN), Shanghai Advanced Research Institute (CN), Institute of Modern Physics (CN), Shanghai Institute of Ceramics (CN), University of Science and Technology Beijing (CN)
Openalex Percentile: Top 83%
Nuclear physics research studies
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