Neutrinos and our Sun - part 2

Abstract

In this part we describe the chain of nuclear reactions that fuse protons into helium nuclei in the centres of stars. Neutrinos play an important role in the proton-proton chain and detection of these neutrinos is important for a direct insight into the processes taking place at the centre of the sun. Experiments for the detection of solar neutrinos and the emerging result from them, known as the Solar Neutrino Puzzle, are described. The puzzle refused to go away even with very carefully designed experiments. Its solution came from physics, by reviving the idea of neutrino oscillations, speculated many decades ago. Recent experiments have confirmed these ideas and have enriched our knowledge of these fundamental particles.