dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaGeo-neutrinos: A systematic approach to uncertainties and correlations
| Authors | G. L. Fogli, E. Lisi, A. Palazzo, A. M. Rotunno |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | physics/0608025 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0608025 |
| DOI | 10.1088/0031-8949/2006/T127/031 |
Abstract
Geo-neutrinos emitted by heat-producing elements (U, Th and K) represent a unique probe of the Earth interior. The characterization of their fluxes is subject, however, to rather large and highly correlated uncertainties. The geochemical covariance of the U, Th and K abundances in various Earth reservoirs induces positive correlations among the associated geo-neutrino fluxes, and between these and the radiogenic heat. Mass-balance constraints in the Bulk Silicate Earth (BSE) tend instead to anti-correlate the radiogenic element abundances in complementary reservoirs. Experimental geo-neutrino observables may be further (anti)correlated by instrumental effects. In this context, we propose a systematic approach to covariance matrices, based on the fact that all the relevant geo-neutrino observables and constraints can be expressed as linear functions of the U, Th and K abundances in the Earth's reservoirs (with relatively well-known coefficients). We briefly discuss here the construction of a tentative "geo-neutrino source model" (GNSM) for the U, Th, and K abundances in the main Earth reservoirs, based on selected geophysical and geochemical data and models (when available), on plausible hypotheses (when possible), and admittedly on arbitrary assumptions (when unavoidable). We use then the GNSM to make predictions about several experiments ("forward approach"), and to show how future data can constrain - a posteriori - the error matrix of the model itself ("backward approach"). The method may provide a useful statistical framework for evaluating the impact and the global consistency of prospective geo-neutrino measurements and Earth models.
{
"annotation_id": "7c7b68c1-878a-42bc-a68c-4bcb5613c31f",
"date_created": "2026-03-02T18:01:11.108000Z",
"date_modified": "2026-03-02T18:01:11.108000Z",
"file_hash": "0699b0a67e9c49bd8bb4de798ba62055fe02f957694cdf557d17bcc63dc73c09",
"private": false,
"record": {
"abstract": "Geo-neutrinos emitted by heat-producing elements (U, Th and K) represent a\nunique probe of the Earth interior. The characterization of their fluxes is\nsubject, however, to rather large and highly correlated uncertainties. The\ngeochemical covariance of the U, Th and K abundances in various Earth\nreservoirs induces positive correlations among the associated geo-neutrino\nfluxes, and between these and the radiogenic heat. Mass-balance constraints in\nthe Bulk Silicate Earth (BSE) tend instead to anti-correlate the radiogenic\nelement abundances in complementary reservoirs. Experimental geo-neutrino\nobservables may be further (anti)correlated by instrumental effects. In this\ncontext, we propose a systematic approach to covariance matrices, based on the\nfact that all the relevant geo-neutrino observables and constraints can be\nexpressed as linear functions of the U, Th and K abundances in the Earth\u0027s\nreservoirs (with relatively well-known coefficients). We briefly discuss here\nthe construction of a tentative \"geo-neutrino source model\" (GNSM) for the U,\nTh, and K abundances in the main Earth reservoirs, based on selected\ngeophysical and geochemical data and models (when available), on plausible\nhypotheses (when possible), and admittedly on arbitrary assumptions (when\nunavoidable). We use then the GNSM to make predictions about several\nexperiments (\"forward approach\"), and to show how future data can constrain - a\nposteriori - the error matrix of the model itself (\"backward approach\"). The\nmethod may provide a useful statistical framework for evaluating the impact and\nthe global consistency of prospective geo-neutrino measurements and Earth\nmodels.",
"arxiv_id": "physics/0608025",
"authors": [
"G. L. Fogli",
"E. Lisi",
"A. Palazzo",
"A. M. Rotunno"
],
"categories": [
"physics.geo-ph",
"hep-ph",
"physics.data-an"
],
"doi": "10.1088/0031-8949/2006/T127/031",
"title": "Geo-neutrinos: A systematic approach to uncertainties and correlations",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0608025"
},
"schema_id": "dorsal/arxiv",
"source": {
"execution_id": "16975098-b461-42f8-9423-993ac5ff6a87",
"id": "arXiv Dataset IDs",
"type": "Model",
"variant": "snapshot-2026-03-01",
"version": "0.1.0"
},
"user_id": 1000002
}