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Comprehensive geoneutrino analysis with Borexino

M. Agostini et al. (Borexino Collaboration)
Phys. Rev. D 101, 012009 – Published 21 January 2020
Physics logo See Synopsis: Earth As a Neutrino Source

Abstract

This paper presents a comprehensive geoneutrino measurement using the Borexino detector, located at Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS) in Italy. The analysis is the result of 3262.74 days of data between December 2007 and April 2019. The paper describes improved analysis techniques and optimized data selection, which includes enlarged fiducial volume and sophisticated cosmogenic veto. The reported exposure of (1.29±0.05)×1032protons×year represents an increase by a factor of two over a previous Borexino analysis reported in 2015. By observing 52.68.6+9.4(stat)2.1+2.7(sys) geoneutrinos (68% interval) from U238 and Th232, a geoneutrino signal of 47.07.7+8.4(stat)1.9+2.4(sys) TNU with 17.2+18.3% total precision was obtained. This result assumes the same Th/U mass ratio as found in chondritic CI meteorites but compatible results were found when contributions from U238 and Th232 were both fit as free parameters. Antineutrino background from reactors is fit unconstrained and found compatible with the expectations. The null-hypothesis of observing a geoneutrino signal from the mantle is excluded at a 99.0% C.L. when exploiting detailed knowledge of the local crust near the experimental site. Measured mantle signal of 21.29.0+9.5(stat)0.9+1.1(sys) TNU corresponds to the production of a radiogenic heat of 24.610.4+11.1TW (68% interval) from U238 and Th232 in the mantle. Assuming 18% contribution of K40 in the mantle and 8.11.4+1.9TW of total radiogenic heat of the lithosphere, the Borexino estimate of the total radiogenic heat of the Earth is 38.212.7+13.6TW, which corresponds to the convective Urey ratio of 0.780.28+0.41. These values are compatible with different geological predictions, however there is a 2.4σ tension with those Earth models which predict the lowest concentration of heat-producing elements in the mantle. In addition, by constraining the number of expected reactor antineutrino events, the existence of a hypothetical georeactor at the center of the Earth having power greater than 2.4 TW is excluded at 95% C.L. Particular attention is given to the description of all analysis details which should be of interest for the next generation of geoneutrino measurements using liquid scintillator detectors.

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  • Received 5 September 2019
  • Corrected 25 February 2020

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.101.012009

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI. Funded by SCOAP3.

Published by the American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Particles & Fields

Corrections

25 February 2020

Correction: The order of Figures 14 and 15 was presented incorrectly and has been fixed. The previously published Figure 14(a) contained the wrong image and has been set right.

Synopsis

Key Image

Earth As a Neutrino Source

Published 21 January 2020

The Borexino experiment has doubled its data on neutrinos generated inside Earth, providing new constraints on geological models of the mantle.

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Vol. 101, Iss. 1 — 1 January 2020

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