title: Reconstructing supernova-neutrino spectra using low-energy beta beams.
abstract: Neutrinos are the principal messengers reaching us from the center of a supernova. Terrestrial neutrino telescopes can provide precious information about the processes in the core of the star. But the information that a neutrino detector can supply is restricted by the fact that little experimental data on the neutrino-nucleus cross sections exist and by the uncertainties in theoretical calculations. In this Letter, we propose a novel procedure that determines the response of a target nucleus in a supernova-neutrino detector, by using low-energy beta beams. We show that fitting "synthetic" spectra, constructed by taking linear combinations of beta-beam spectra, to the original supernova-neutrino spectra reproduces the folded differential cross sections very accurately. Comparing the response in a detector to these synthetic responses provides a direct way to determine the main parameters of the supernova-neutrino energy distribution.
authors.affiliation: Department of Subatomic and Radiation Physics, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium. natalie.jachowicz@UGent.be
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jachowicz
authors.forename: G C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: McLaughlin