Related papers: Geo-neutrinos: A systematic approach to uncertaint…
The terrestrial distribution of U, Th, and K abundances governs the thermal evolution, traces the differentiation, and reflects the bulk composition of the earth. Comparing the bulk earth composition to chondritic meteorites estimates the…
We review a new interdisciplinary field between Geology and Physics: the study of the Earth's geo-neutrino flux. We describe competing models for the composition of the Earth, present geological insights into the make up of the continental…
Geo-neutrino observations probe the quantities and distributions of terrestrial heat-producing elements uranium and thorium. The quantities of these elements gauge global radiogenic power, offering insights into the origin and thermal…
Debate continues on the amount and distribution of radioactive heat producing elements (i.e., U, Th, and K) in the Earth, with estimates for mantle heat production varying by an order of magnitude. Constraints on the bulk-silicate Earth's…
Uranium and thorium are the main heat producing elements in the earth. Their quantities and distributions, which specify the flux of detectable antineutrinos generated by the beta decay of their daughter isotopes, remain unmeasured.…
It has been estimated that the entire Earth generates heat corresponding to about 40 TW (equivalent to 10,000 nuclear power plants) which is considered to originate mainly from the radioactive decay of elements like U, Th and K, deposited…
In preparation to the experimental results which will be available in the future, we study geo-neutrino production for different models of mantle convection and composition. By using global mass balance for the Bulk Silicate Earth, the…
Chemical and physical Earth models agree little as to the radioactive power of the planet. Each predicts a range of radioactive powers, overlapping slightly with the other at about 24 TW, and together spanning 14-46 TW. Approximately 20 %…
Geo-neutrino detection will determine the amount of long lived radioactive elements within our planet and fix the debated radiogenic contribution to the terrestrial heat. In addition, it will provide a direct test of the Bulk Silicate Earth…
Neutrino geophysics, the study of the Earth's interior by measuring the fluxes of geologically produced neutrino at its surface, is a new interdisciplinary field of science, rapidly developing as a synergy between geology, geophysics and…
The review is conceived to help the reader to interpret present geoneutrino results in the framework of Earth's energetics and composition. Starting from the comprehension of antineutrino production, propagation, and detection, the status…
The deepest hole that has ever been dug is about 12 km deep. Geochemists analyze samples from the Earth's crust and from the top of the mantle. Seismology can reconstruct the density profile throughout all Earth, but not its composition. In…
Order of magnitude estimates of radiogenic heat and antineutrino production are given, using the San Marco cathedral as an example. Prospects of determining the radiogenic contribution to terrestrial heat by detection of antineutrinos from…
Geo-neutrinos, electron antineutrinos from natural radioactive decays inside the Earth, bring to the surface unique information about our planet. The new techniques in neutrino detection opened a door into a completely new…
In preparation to the experimental results which will be available in the future, we consider geo-neutrino production in greater detail than in [F. Mantovani et al., arXiv:hep-ph/0309013], putting the basis for a more refined model. We…
Roughly 40% of the Earth's total heat flow is powered by radioactive decays in the crust and mantle. Geo-neutrinos produced by these decays provide important clues about the origin, formation and thermal evolution of our planet, as well as…
We estimate terrestrial antineutrino and neutrino fluxes according to different models of Earth composition. We find large variations, corresponding to uncertainties on the estimated $U$, $Th$ and $K$ abundances in the mantle. Information…
The formation of the Earth remains an epoch with mysterious puzzles extending to our still incomplete understanding of the planet's potential origin and bulk composition. Direct confirmation of the Earth's internal heat engine was…
The decay of the primordial isotopes $^{238}\mathrm{U}$, $^{235}\mathrm{U}$, $^{232}\mathrm{Th}$, and $^{40}\mathrm{K}$ have contributed to the terrestrial heat budget throughout the Earth's history. Hence the individual abundance of those…
Geo-reactor models suggest the existence of natural nuclear reactors at different deep-earth locations with loosely defined output power. Reactor fission products undergo beta decay with the emission of electron antineutrinos, which…