Evidence for r-Mode Oscillations in Super-Kamiokande Solar Neutrino Data

There has for some time been evidence of variability in radiochemical solar neutrino measurements, but this evidence has seemed suspect since the Cerenkov experiments have not shown similar evidence of variability. The present reanalysis of Super-Kamiokande data shows strong evidence of r-mode oscillations. The frequencies of these oscillations correspond to a region with a sidereal rotation rate of 13.97 year⁻¹. This estimate is incompatible with the rotation rate in the convection zone but is compatible with current estimates of the rotation rate in the radiative zone. The excitation of r modes in the radiative zone may be due to a velocity field originating in or related to the nuclear-burning core.