The New Status of Argon-37 Artificial Neutrino Source Project

Solution of the solar neutrino problem is significantly depends on the next generation of detectors that can measure the neutrino radiation from the Sun in intermediate energies. An intense (∼ 1 MCi) 37Ar source would be an ideal tool for the calibration of new solar neutrino detectors. The technology of the production of such a source is based on the irradiation of a large mass of a Ca-containing target in a high-flux fast-neutron reactor. Produced 37Ar extracted from this target, will be purified and encapsulated in a source holder. A joint scientific collaboration of Russian, US and Japanese institutions are researching and developing the initial steps of this work and are funded by ISTC and CRDF