What can SNO neutral current rate teach us about the solar neutrino anomaly

Abstract

We investigate how the anticipated neutral current rate from SNO will sharpen our understanding of the solar neutrino anomaly. Quantitative analyses are performed with representative values of this rate in the expected range of 0.8–1.2. This would provide a 5–10σ signal for ν_e transition into a state containing an active neutrino component. Assuming this state to be purely active one can estimate both the ⁸B neutrino flux and the ν_e survival probability to a much higher precision than currently possible. Finally the measured value of the NC rate will have profound implications for the mass and mixing parameters of the solar neutrino oscillation solution.