What Can Neutrinos Tell Us about Light Elements in Earth's Core?

Abstract:

The light element composition of the Earth's core remains mysterious despite decades' of research. Without any direct samples, our knowledge of the core composition has relied on a diversity of constraints including the density and velocity profiles derived from seismic and geophysical observations, the composition models proposed on the basis of geochemical and cosmochemical measurements, the material properties determined by mineral physics investigations, and the thermal and dynamo requirements coming out of dynamic modeling. The leading candidates for the principal light element include hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, sulfur and silicon, in the order of increasing atomic number. While each candidate stands out in some aspects and raises questions in others, none has been universally accepted as the dominant light element in the core. The controversy arises partly because the properties and behavior of various iron-alloys at extreme pressure and temperature conditions have not been fully constrained. It is also conceivable that existing approaches will not produce unique solution, and therefore requires new strategies.

Neutrino oscillation tomography has recently emerged as a promising technique to probe the composition of Earth's interior. Neutrinos are produced in the atmosphere by cosmic ray interactions. Atmospheric neutrinos pass through the Earth's mantle and core, with flavor oscillations being affected by the electron density of the medium along the trajectories. The unique sensitivity of the atmospheric neutrinos to electron density introduces a contrast between hydrogen, which has a higher electron density, and carbon, oxygen, sulfur, and silicon, which have lower and similar electron densities. With sufficient exposure to an appropriate energy range, atmospheric neutrino measurements may allow us to detect the presence of the core and measure its radius. Here we compare electron densities of candidate model compositions of Earth's core and estimate the exposure requirements for identifying the dominant light element thorough neutrino oscillation tomography for both neutrino mass hierarchies. In particular, we will evaluate if any of the on-going and next-generation projects IceCube, PINGU, MICA, and HyperK can tell us about the light elements in Earth's core.