Oscillation tomografy study of Earth’s composition and density with atmospheric neutrinos

Abstract Knowledge of the composition of the Earth’s interior is highly relevant to many geophysical and geochemical problems. Neutrino oscillations are modified in a non-trivial way by the matter effects and can provide valuable and unique information not only on the density but also on the chemica...

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Main Authors: Juan Carlos D’Olivo, José Arnulfo Herrera Lara, Ismael Romero, Oscar A. Sampayo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SpringerOpen 2022-07-01
Series:European Physical Journal C: Particles and Fields
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-022-10563-y
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author Juan Carlos D’Olivo
José Arnulfo Herrera Lara
Ismael Romero
Oscar A. Sampayo
author_facet Juan Carlos D’Olivo
José Arnulfo Herrera Lara
Ismael Romero
Oscar A. Sampayo
author_sort Juan Carlos D’Olivo
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Knowledge of the composition of the Earth’s interior is highly relevant to many geophysical and geochemical problems. Neutrino oscillations are modified in a non-trivial way by the matter effects and can provide valuable and unique information not only on the density but also on the chemical and isotopic composition of the deep regions of the planet. In this paper, we re-examine the possibility of performing an oscillation tomography of the Earth with atmospheric neutrinos and antineutrinos to obtain information on the composition and density of the outer core and the mantle, complementary to that obtained by geophysical methods. Particular attention is paid to the D $$^{\prime \prime }$$ ″ layer just above the core-mantle boundary and to the water (hydrogen) content in the mantle transition zone. Our analysis is based on a Monte-Carlo simulation of the energy and azimuthal angle distribution of $$\mu $$ μ -like events generated by neutrinos. Taking as reference a model of the Earth consisting of 55 concentric layers with constant densities determined from the PREM, we evaluate the effect on the number of events due to changes in the composition and density of the outer core and the mantle. To examine the capacity of a detector like ORCA to resolve such variations, we construct regions in planes of two of these quantities where the statistical significance of the discrepancies between the reference and the modified Earth are less than $$1\sigma $$ 1 σ . The variations are implemented in such a way that the constraint imposed by both the total mass of the Earth and its moment of inertia are verified.
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spelling doaj.art-8ff15eb69a864e1f8f48ccffcb5cae9d2022-12-22T03:01:11ZengSpringerOpenEuropean Physical Journal C: Particles and Fields1434-60522022-07-0182711510.1140/epjc/s10052-022-10563-yOscillation tomografy study of Earth’s composition and density with atmospheric neutrinosJuan Carlos D’Olivo0José Arnulfo Herrera Lara1Ismael Romero2Oscar A. Sampayo3Instituto de Ciencias Nucleares, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de MéxicoInstituto de Ciencias Nucleares, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de MéxicoInstituto de Física de Mar del Plata (IFIMAR), CONICET, UNMDP Departamento de Física, Universidad Nacional de Mar del PlataInstituto de Física de Mar del Plata (IFIMAR), CONICET, UNMDP Departamento de Física, Universidad Nacional de Mar del PlataAbstract Knowledge of the composition of the Earth’s interior is highly relevant to many geophysical and geochemical problems. Neutrino oscillations are modified in a non-trivial way by the matter effects and can provide valuable and unique information not only on the density but also on the chemical and isotopic composition of the deep regions of the planet. In this paper, we re-examine the possibility of performing an oscillation tomography of the Earth with atmospheric neutrinos and antineutrinos to obtain information on the composition and density of the outer core and the mantle, complementary to that obtained by geophysical methods. Particular attention is paid to the D $$^{\prime \prime }$$ ″ layer just above the core-mantle boundary and to the water (hydrogen) content in the mantle transition zone. Our analysis is based on a Monte-Carlo simulation of the energy and azimuthal angle distribution of $$\mu $$ μ -like events generated by neutrinos. Taking as reference a model of the Earth consisting of 55 concentric layers with constant densities determined from the PREM, we evaluate the effect on the number of events due to changes in the composition and density of the outer core and the mantle. To examine the capacity of a detector like ORCA to resolve such variations, we construct regions in planes of two of these quantities where the statistical significance of the discrepancies between the reference and the modified Earth are less than $$1\sigma $$ 1 σ . The variations are implemented in such a way that the constraint imposed by both the total mass of the Earth and its moment of inertia are verified.https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-022-10563-y
spellingShingle Juan Carlos D’Olivo
José Arnulfo Herrera Lara
Ismael Romero
Oscar A. Sampayo
Oscillation tomografy study of Earth’s composition and density with atmospheric neutrinos
European Physical Journal C: Particles and Fields
title Oscillation tomografy study of Earth’s composition and density with atmospheric neutrinos
title_full Oscillation tomografy study of Earth’s composition and density with atmospheric neutrinos
title_fullStr Oscillation tomografy study of Earth’s composition and density with atmospheric neutrinos
title_full_unstemmed Oscillation tomografy study of Earth’s composition and density with atmospheric neutrinos
title_short Oscillation tomografy study of Earth’s composition and density with atmospheric neutrinos
title_sort oscillation tomografy study of earth s composition and density with atmospheric neutrinos
url https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-022-10563-y
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AT josearnulfoherreralara oscillationtomografystudyofearthscompositionanddensitywithatmosphericneutrinos
AT ismaelromero oscillationtomografystudyofearthscompositionanddensitywithatmosphericneutrinos
AT oscarasampayo oscillationtomografystudyofearthscompositionanddensitywithatmosphericneutrinos