Neutrinos Detected from the Earth’s Mantle

The steady decay of long-lived radioactive isotopes within the Earth heats the planet and also sends out streams of neutrinos, which can be observed by large detectors. The Borexino Collaboration now reports a new set of data for such “geoneutrinos” and indicates that at least some of them originate from the Earth’s mantle. The work could improve researchers’ understanding of how radioactive decays help drive internal geophysical processes, including the slow convection of rock in the Earth’s mantle.

[link to physics.aps.org]