Prototyping

Small scale prototypes

Several SoLAr prootypes have been successfully built and operated in the University of Bern. They demonstrated that the envisaged principle of combining charge and light readout is possible. Simulations have shown that a 7% resolution can be achieved by replacing anode planes with a pixelated readout integrating a light- sensitive area covering ~10% of the surface. This system enhances the amount of collected light by a factor of 5 compared with the first DUNE module.

Boulby demonstrator

The near-term goal of SoLAr is to install a medium-scale demonstrator in the Boulby Underground Laboratory. The initial science goals of SoLAr in Boulby are to assess self-shielding capabilities including virtual fiducialization and to assess the expected performance of the SoLAr detector (background reduction with mitigation algorithms and pulse-shape discrimination to a background-free experiment above 14 MeV, and 7% energy resolution). In the final years, we will validate the performance using the SoLAr detector and observe solar neutrinos (⁸B) with SoLAr at >5σ significance. Finally, we will estimate the sensitivity to solar neutrinos (target: 2.5% measurement of ⁸B and 11%; measurement of hep flux) for the Module of Opportunity to demonstrate the superior detection capability for low-energy neutrinos of this technology.