On the origin of the Kamiokande experiment and neutrino astrophysics

摘要

The Kamiokande experiment was originally conceived and designed for the detection of proton decay signals. In the early stage of the experiment, it was decided to upgrade the detector so that astrophysical neutrinos including solar neutrinos in the 10 MeV energy range can be detected. When the upgrade of the detector was almost completed, a neutrino burst from Supernova SN1987A was detected. 2 years later, solar neutrinos were also observed with the energy, the directional and the arrival time information. This article describes the story of the Kamiokande experiment, and the subsequent development of the neutrino physics, including the neutrino oscillation, and astrophysics with Kamiokande and its successors; Super-Kamiokande and KamLAND.