The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory

The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) detector is a 1000 tonne heavy water Čerenkov detector under construction near to Sudbury in Canada. The aim of the experiment is to detect neutrinos from the sun and other astrophysical sources. The use of heavy water allows both electron neutrinos and all types of neutrinos to be observed by three complementary reactions. The detector will be sensitive to the electron neutrino flux and energy spectrum shape and to the total neutrino flux irrespective of neutrino type. These measurements will provide information which should clarify the role of neutrino oscillations, neutrino magnetic moments and solar model predictions in explanations of the observed deficit in solar neutrino flux. In the event of a supernova it will be very sensitive to muon and tau neutrinos as well as the electron neutrinos emitted in the initial burst enabling sensitive mass measurements as well as providing details of the physics of stellar collapse.