Byron Jennings
TRIUMF Laboratory


SNOing on Nuclear Theory

The solar neutrinos observed at SNO come predominately from the decay of
Boron 8. This isotope is produced in the Be7(p, gamma)B8 reaction. Thus in
order to interpret the SNO result we need the Be7(p, gamma)B8 reaction
rate. Due to the low temperature of sun we need the rate at 18keV; well
below any earthly experiment. In this talk I will discuss the nuclear theory
required to understand this reaction. The extrapolation from the experimental
results to the needed low energy reaction has less uncertainty than might be
expected from a simple analysis.