For most of their existence, stars are powered by fusion of hydrogen into helium via two processes that are well understood theoretically: the proton–proton chain, dominant in relatively small stars like our Sun, and the Carbon–Nitrogen–Oxygen cycle, which is prevalent in bigger, more massive stars. Borexino got the first experimental evidence of neutrinos emitted by the CNO cycle in the Sun core.
Nature news: Neutrinos reveal final secret of Sun’s nuclear fusion
Detection of particles produced by the Sun’s core supports long-held theory about how our star is powered. By catching neutrinos emanating from the Sun’s core, physicists have filled in the last missing detail of how nuclear fusion powers the stars.
Comprehensive measurement of pp-chain solar neutrinos
Comprehensive measurement of pp-chain solar neutrinos Nature volume 562, pages 505–510 (2018) Published: 24 October 2018 [doi:10.1038/s41586-018-0624-y] (full text here) Data availability The datasets generated during the current study are freely available: see below. Additional information is available from the Borexino Collaboration
Neutrinos from the primary proton-proton fusion process in the Sun
Neutrinos from the primary proton-proton fusion process in the Sun Nature 512, 383-386 (28 August 2014) doi:10.1038/nature13702 Data availability: The datasets generated during the current study are freely available (see below). Additional information is available from the Borexino Collaboration spokesperson (spokesperson-borex@lngs.infn.it)