Catching some Zs: The solar neutrino problem, neutral current interactions, and the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory

The Solar Neutrino Problem (SNP) rivals CP violation as one of the oldest problems in physics that lacks a compelling explanation. The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO)—a heavy-water Cherenkov detector—is the first solar neutrino experiment that has the ability to discriminate signals from different neutrino flavors. Since all three presently known flavors participate in Zo exchange, SNO is extremely sensitive to neutrino oscillations. A brief overview of the SNP is given, including a discussion of sterile neutrinos. The ability of SNO to discriminate between the various possible solutions to the SNP is also discussed. The SNO detector is described, including a description of the neutral-current detection methods, and the current status of the experiment is given.