Determination of the 8B neutrino energy spectrum using trapped ions

The 0+ decay of 8B provides the dominant source of solar neutrinos above 2 MeV. Consequently, experiments that detect neutrinos from the sun require an accurate determination of the 8B neutrino energy spectrum. In this work, the 0-decay Paul trap surrounded by double-sided silicon strip detectors was utilized to precisely measure the decay products of trapped 8B ions. The results were used to determine the 8Be final-state distribution and to reconstruct the neutrino energy spectrum. This measurement using trapped ions is the first of its kind and puts the neutrino energy spectrum on much firmer footing by discriminating between recently reported values for the maximum of the final-state distribution.