Neutrino Geophysics (eBook)

Stephen T. Dye is an associate professor of physics at Hawaii Pacific University and an affiliate to the graduate faculty of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Table of Contents 5
Preface 7
Neutrino Geophysics Conference Introduction 8
1. Welcome 8
2. Neutrino Science Blossoming 8
3. Where is the Uranium and Thorium in the Earth? 11
4. How Can We Detect Geo-Neutrinos? 14
5. Synergy in Multiple Observations around the World 18
6. Other Applications of Future Large, Low-Energy Neutrino Detectors 20
7. Challenge and Outlook 22
Acknowledgements 22
References 22
Can the Future of Neutrino Physics Compare with its Past? 23
Radioactivity of the Earth and the Case for Potassium in the Earth’s Core 29
1. Introduction 29
2. Radioactivity of the crust and the mantle 30
3. Radioactivity of the Core 33
4. Conclusions 36
References 37
Is there a Nuclear Reactor at the Center of the Earth? 39
1. Introduction 39
2. Origin and Composition of the Earth 40
3. Segregation of Core and Mantle 44
4. The Cooling Stage of the Core 45
5. Meteorites and the Earth 47
6. The Herndon Hypothesis. Behavior of Uranium in the Core 48
7. Heat Production in the Core. Need for ‘‘Non-conventional’’ Heat Sources? 51
8. 3He/4He Isotope Geochemistry 53
9. Conclusions 53
Acknowledgments 54
References 54
Comment on R. D. Schuiling's Paper 56
Solar System Processes Underlying Planetary Formation, Geodynamics, and the Georeactor 57
1. Introduction 57
2. Nature and Origin of Planetary Matter 59
3. Low-Temperature, Low-Pressure Condensation 61
4. High-Temperature, High-Pressure Condensation 64
5. Evidence of Earth Being Like an Enstatite Chondrite 66
6. Overview of Solar System Formation 69
7. Implications of Protoplanetary Earth Formation 71
8. Evidence of Earth as a Jupiter-Like-Gas-Giant 71
9. Whole-Earth Decompression Dynamics 72
10. Mantle Decompression Thermal-Tsunami 74
11. Precipitation of the Structures of the Endo-Earth 76
12. Radionuclides of the Endo-Earth 78
13. Radionuclides of the Exo-Earth 80
14. Georeactor Nuclear Fission 80
15. Radionuclide Abundance and Distribution 83
16. Georeactor Variability 84
17. Deep-Earth Helium Evidence of the Georeactor 86
18. Eventual Demise of the Georeactor 88
19. Grand Overview and Generalizations 88
References 90
Geo-Neutrinos: from Theory to the KamLAND Results 94
1. Introduction 94
2. U, Th and K in the Earth: How much and where? 95
3. A reference model and its uncertainties 98
4. A closer look for Kamioka 101
5. The geo-neutrino signal as a function of uranium mass in the Earth 103
6. Discussion of the KamLAND results 107
7. The geo-neutrino signal and the 13C(a, n)16O cross section 109
8. Future prospects 110
Acknowledgments 112
References 112
Geo-Neutrinos: A Systematic Approach to Uncertainties and Correlations 114
1. Introduction 114
2. Covariance and Correlations: General Aspects 115
3. Towards a Geo-Neutrino Source Model 120
4. Issues Related to ‘‘Local’’ Reservoirs 126
5. Forward Propagation of Uncertainties 128
6. Backward Update of the GNSM Error Matrix 130
7. Conclusions and Prospects for Further Work 131
Acknowledgements 131
References 132
Experimental Study of Geoneutrinos with KamLAND 134
1. Neutrino Geophysics with KamLAND 134
2. The KamLAND Detector 141
3. Discussion 145
4. Conclusion 148
References 148
Experimental Status of Geo-reactor Search with KamLAND Detector 150
1. Introduction 150
2. A Nuclear Reactor in the Earth’s Core? 151
3. Anti-neutrino Detection with KamLAND 152
4. Discussion of Results and Conclusion 155
References 156
Imaging the Earth’s Interior: the Angular Distribution of Terrestrial Neutrinos 157
1. Introduction 158
2. Formalism 160
3. Earth Models 168
4. Results 170
5. Experimental Challenges and Prospects 176
6. Discussion 178
Acknowledgements 180
Appendix A: Terrestrial Tomography: Inverting the Angular Distribution 181
References 182
On the Possibility of Directional Analysis for Geo-neutrinos 184
1. Introduction 184
2. Detection Method in KamLAND 185
3. Directionality Detection Principle 186
4. Simulation Procedure 188
5. Simulation Results 189
6. Prospects for Model Checking 189
7. Conclusion and Discussion 192
Acknowledgements 193
References 193
Towards Earth AntineutRino TomograpHy (EARTH) 194
1. Introduction 195
2. Proposed Geoneutrino Telescope 197
3. Conclusions 206
References 207
Geoneutrinos in Borexino 208
1. The Gran Sasso National Laboratory 208
2. The Borexino Detector 209
3. The Counting Test Facility 212
4. The Counting Test Facility Related Publications 213
5. Geoneutrinos Detection 214
6. Antineutrino Signal and Detection Sensitivity 220
7. Conclusion 221
Acknowledgements 221
References 221
Geo-neutrinos in SNO+ 222
1. Introduction 222
2. The SNO+ detector 224
3. Signal and background 225
4. Summary 229
References 229
A Geoneutrino Experiment at Homestake 230
1. Introduction 230
2. Geoneutrino signal 233
3. Backgrounds 235
4. The Detector 238
5. Conclusion 240
References 240
Earth Radioactivity Measurements with a Deep Ocean Anti-neutrino Observatory 242
1. Introduction 242
2. Geo-neutrino Detection Sensitivity 245
3. Geo-reactor Neutrino Detection Sensitivity 249
4. Recommended Detector Specifications 251
5. Conclusions 252
Acknowledgements 252
References 253
Probing the Earth’s Interior with the LENA Detector 254
1. Introduction 254
2. Geoneutrino Detection 255
3. Models of the Earth 259
4. Monte-Carlo Study 261
5. Conclusions 263
Acknowledgments 265
References 265
Neutron Background and Possibility for Shallow Experiments 266
1. More and More Geoneutrino Detectors 266
2. Muon and Neutron Simulation 267
3. Geoneutrino Experiments at 300 m.w.e 268
4. Research and Development 273
Acknowledgements 274
References 274
Scintillating Oils and Compatible Materials for Next Generation of Electron Anti-neutrino Detectors, After Double Chooz 275
1. From Geoneutrinos to Reactor Neutrinos 275
2. Introduction to Double Chooz 276
3. Systematic Uncertainties and Backgrounds 277
4. The Detector 278
5. Scintillator and Buffer Liquids 280
6. Material Compatibility 283
7. Conclusion 284
References 284
Neutrino Tomography – Learning About The Earth’s Interior Using The Propagation Of Neutrinos 285
1. Introduction 285
2. Tomography Using the Propagation of Neutrinos 286
3. Neutrino Absorption Tomography 288
4. Neutrino Oscillation Tomography 291
5. Other Geophysical Aspects of Neutrino Oscillations 303
6. Summary and Conclusions 303
Acknowledgements 305
References 305
Far Field Monitoring of Rogue Nuclear Activity with an Array of Large Anti-neutrino Detectors 308
1. Introduction 308
2. Anti-neutrinos Produced in Nuclear Fission 310
3. Detecting Anti-neutrinos 311
4. Shielding from Cosmic Rays 314
5. Anti-neutrino Background Sources 314
6. Neutrino Oscillations 317
7. Regional Monitoring 318
8. Global Monitoring 321
9. Monitoring of Fission Bomb Detonation 323
10. Cost 323
11. Conclusion 325
Acknowledgments 326
Appendix A: A List of Nuclear Reactor Location and Power 326
Appendix B: The Statistical Technique Used to Compare the Observed Number of Events against the Expected Number 327
References 329
Neutrinos and Non-proliferation in Europe 330
1. Simulations 332
2. Experimental Effort 336
3. Conclusions 339
References 340
Strategy for Applying Neutrino Geophysics to the Earth Sciences Including Planetary Habitability 341
1. Introduction 341
2. Antineutrino Detectors 342
3. Application of Elemental Results 347
4. Conclusions and Implications to Biology 353
Acknowledgements 355
References 355
Physics in Next Geoneutrino Detectors 357
1. Introduction 357
2. Geoneutrino Detection After KamLAND First Result 358
3. Detection of Solar 7Be, pep and CNO Neutrinos 362
4. Precise Measurement of Reactor Neutrino Oscillations 363
5. Conclusions 366
References 366