Neutrinos as a probe of Earth's interior

COFFEE_KLATCH · Invited

Abstract

It has been estimated that the Earth emits about 45 terawatts of a heat. A large fraction of this heat is generated inside the Earth by the decay of radioactive elements such as K, Th, U. During such decays low energy neutrinos are produced which freely propagate through the Earth. A new generation of low background, large volume detectors are capable of measuring the flux of these neutrinos. These detectors open a new window into the Earth's interior. The detection of these neutrinos from multiple locations on Earth can let us not only measure the total amount of radiogenic heat but will allow us, in the future, to do neutrino tomography of the Earth. I will review the present status and future perspectives in this field.

Authors

  • Yuri Efremenko

    University of Tennessee