Vacuum oscillations of solar neutrinos: correlation between spectrum distortion and seasonal variations

The experimental signatures of vacuum oscillations solution of the solar neutrino problem are discussed. We show that there is a strict correlation between a distortion of the neutrino energy spectrum and an amplitude of seasonal variations of the neutrino flux. The slope parameter which characterizes a distortion of the recoil electron energy spectrum in the Super-Kamiokande experiment and the seasonal asymmetry of the signal have been calculated in a wide range of oscillation parameters. The correlation of the slope and asymmetry gives crucial criteria for identification or exclusion of this solution. For the positive slope indicated by preliminary Super-Kamiokande data we predict (40-60) % enhancement of the seasonal variations. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.