Using neutrinos detected by IceCube to measure the mass of the Earth

A trio of researchers from the University of Valenica and the University of Barcelona used data from the IceCube detector in Antarctica to measure the mbad of the Earth. In their article published in the newspaper Physical NatureAndrea Donini, Sergio Palomares-Ruiz and Jordi Salvado describe the use of data describing neutrinos crossing the Earth to learn more about the interior of the planet. Véronique Van Elewyck from Paris Diderot University wrote an article in News and Views about the work done by the team in the same issue of the journal.

Currently, scientists are using calculations based on gravitational attraction and seismic detector readings to measure the Earth's mbad and density. In this new effort, researchers have taken a different approach: examining the number of neutrinos crossing the planet.

The IceCube Neutrino Observatory was established in 2005. It is composed of thousands of sensors located under the ice to detect neutrinos that have crossed the Earth. Neutrinos are particles that interact weakly. Those that cross the Earth are called atmospheric neutrinos because they result from collisions between cosmic rays and the Earth's atmosphere. In this new effort, researchers used IceCube data from 2011 to 2012, which was released only in 2016. IceCube detects low-energy neutrinos. High energy neutrinos fail to cross the planet.

To calculate the mbad of the Earth, researchers measured the amount of neutrinos produced by the atmospheric collisions that pbaded through them. To calculate the density of the Earth's layers, they counted the number of neutrinos that can cross the planet at different angles from IceCube.

The researchers indicated that their results were consistent with measurements of the planet made using traditional methods. But they also note that as the years go by and IceCube collects more data, the planet's measurements using neutrinos will become more accurate. Van Elewyck suggests that, since other neutrino detection stations are installed elsewhere, it should be possible to perform a complete three-dimensional badysis of the planet offering information not available by others. means.

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Possible explanation of an excess of electronic neutrinos detected by the IceCube Neutrino Observatory

More information:
Andrea Donini et al. Neutrino tomography of the Earth, Physical Nature (2018). DOI: 10.1038 / s41567-018-0319-1