Towards a complete reconstruction of supernova neutrino spectra in future large liquid-scintillator detectors

Abstract

In this paper, we show how to carry out a relatively more realistic and complete reconstruction of supernova neutrino spectra in the future large liquid-scintillator detectors, by implementing the method of singular value decomposition with a proper regularization. For a core-collapse supernova at a distance of 10 kpc in the Milky Way, its νe spectrum can be precisely determined from the inverse beta-decay process νe+p→e++n, for which a 20 kiloton liquid-scintillator detector with the resolution similar to the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory may register more than 5000 events. We have to rely predominantly on the elastic neutrino-electron scattering ν+e-→ν+e- and the elastic neutrino-proton scattering ν+p→ν+p for the spectra of νe and νx, where ν denotes collectively neutrinos and antineutrinos of all three flavors and νx for νμ and ντ as well as their antiparticles. To demonstrate the validity of our approach, we also attempt to reconstruct the neutrino spectra by using the time-integrated neutrino data from the latest numerical simulations of delayed neutrino-driven supernova explosions.