Earth tomography with supernova neutrinos at future neutrino detectors

Rasmi Hajjar (Instituto de Física Corpuscular (IFIC), University of Valencia-CSIC, Parc Científic UV, C/ Catedrático José Beltrán 2, E-46980 Paterna, Spain; Scuola Superiore Meridionale, Largo San Marcellino 10, 80138 Napoli, Italy) ; Olga Mena (Instituto de Física Corpuscular (IFIC), University of Valencia-CSIC, Parc Científic UV, C/ Catedrático José Beltrán 2, E-46980 Paterna, Spain) ; Sergio Palomares-Ruiz (Instituto de Física Corpuscular (IFIC), University of Valencia-CSIC, Parc Científic UV, C/ Catedrático José Beltrán 2, E-46980 Paterna, Spain)

Earth neutrino tomography is a realistic possibility with current and future neutrino detectors, complementary to geophysics methods. The two main approaches are based on either partial absorption of the neutrino flux as it propagates through Earth (at energies about a few TeV) or on coherent Earth matter effects affecting the neutrino oscillations pattern (at energies below a few tens of GeV). In this work, we consider the latter approach, focusing on supernova neutrinos with tens of MeV. Whereas at GeV energies, Earth matter effects are driven by the atmospheric mass-squared difference, at energies below 100 MeV, it is the solar mass-squared difference that controls them. Unlike solar neutrinos, which suffer from significant weakening of the contribution to the oscillatory effect from remote structures due to the neutrino energy reconstruction capabilities of detectors, supernova neutrinos can have higher energies and, thus, can better probe Earth’s interior. We shall revisit this possibility, using the most recent neutrino oscillation parameters and up-to-date supernova neutrino spectra. The capabilities of future neutrino detectors, such as DUNE, Hyper-Kamiokande, and JUNO, are presented, including the impact of the energy resolution and other factors. Assuming a supernova burst at 10 kpc, we show that the average Earth’s core density could be determined within 10% at 1σ confidence level, Hyper-Kamiokande being, with its largest mass, the most promising detector to achieve this goal.

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      "value": "Earth neutrino tomography is a realistic possibility with current and future neutrino detectors, complementary to geophysics methods. The two main approaches are based on either partial absorption of the neutrino flux as it propagates through Earth (at energies about a few TeV) or on coherent Earth matter effects affecting the neutrino oscillations pattern (at energies below a few tens of GeV). In this work, we consider the latter approach, focusing on supernova neutrinos with tens of MeV. Whereas at GeV energies, Earth matter effects are driven by the atmospheric mass-squared difference, at energies below <math><mrow><mo>\u223c</mo><mn>100</mn><mtext> </mtext><mtext> </mtext><mi>MeV</mi></mrow></math>, it is the solar mass-squared difference that controls them. Unlike solar neutrinos, which suffer from significant weakening of the contribution to the oscillatory effect from remote structures due to the neutrino energy reconstruction capabilities of detectors, supernova neutrinos can have higher energies and, thus, can better probe Earth\u2019s interior. We shall revisit this possibility, using the most recent neutrino oscillation parameters and up-to-date supernova neutrino spectra. The capabilities of future neutrino detectors, such as DUNE, Hyper-Kamiokande, and JUNO, are presented, including the impact of the energy resolution and other factors. Assuming a supernova burst at 10 kpc, we show that the average Earth\u2019s core density could be determined within <math><mo>\u2272</mo><mn>10</mn><mo>%</mo></math> at <math><mn>1</mn><mi>\u03c3</mi></math> confidence level, Hyper-Kamiokande being, with its largest mass, the most promising detector to achieve this goal."
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Published on:
10 October 2023
Publisher:
APS
Published in:
Physical Review D , Volume 108 (2023)
Issue 8
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.108.083011
arXiv:
2303.09369
Copyrights:
Published by the American Physical Society
Licence:
CC-BY-4.0

Fulltext files: