Spectroscopy of geoneutrinos with Borexino

The Borexino Collaboration

Research output: Contribution to journalConference articlepeer-review

Abstract

Borexino is a 280-ton liquid scintillator detector located at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS), Italy and is one of the two detectors that has measured geoneutrinos so far. The unprecedented radio-purity of the scintillator, the shielding with highly purified water, and the placement of the detector at 3800 m w.e. depth have resulted in very low background levels, making Borexino an excellent apparatus for geoneutrino measurements. This article will summarize the recent geoneutrino analysis and results with Borexino, from the period December 2007 to April 2019. The updated statistics and the optimized analysis techniques such as an increased fiducial volume and sophisticated cosmogenic vetoes, have led to more than a twofold increase in exposure when compared to the previous measurement in 2015, resulting in a significant improvement in the precision. In addition, Borexino has also been able to reject the null hypothesis of the mantle geoneutrino signal with 99% C.L., for the first time, by exploiting the extensive knowledge of the crust surrounding the detector. This article will also include other geological interpretations of the obtained results such as the calculation of the radiogenic heat and the comparison of the results to various predictions. Additionally, upper limits for a hypothetical georeactor that might be present at different locations inside the Earth will also be discussed.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number012140
JournalJournal of Physics: Conference Series
Volume2156
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 21 2022
Event17th International Conference on Topics in Astroparticle and Underground Physics, TAUP 2021 - Virtual, Online
Duration: Aug 26 2021Sep 3 2021

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Physics and Astronomy

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