Probing Earth’s missing potassium using the antimatter signature of geoneutrinos

Cabrera, A. ; Chen, M. ; Mantovani, F. ; Serafini, A. ; Strati, V. ; Apilluelo, J. (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Asquith, L. ; Beney, J. L. ; Bezerra, T. J. C. ; Bongrand, M. ; Bourgeois, C. ; Breton, D. ; Briere, M. ; Busto, J. ; Cadiou, A. ; Calvo, E. ; Chaumat, V. ; Chauveau, E. ; Cattermole, B. J. ; Chimenti, P. ; Delafosse, C. ; de Kerret, H. ; Dusini, S. ; Earle, A. ; Frigerio-Martins, C. ; Galán, J. ; García, J. A. (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Gazzini, R. ; Gibson-Foster, A. ; Gallas, A. ; Girard-Carillo, C. ; Griffith, W. C. ; Haddad, F. ; Hartnell, J. ; Hourlier, A. ; Hull, G. ; Irastorza, I. G. ; Koch, L. ; Laniéce, P. ; Le Du, J. F. ; Lefebvre, C. ; Lefevre, F. ; Legrand, F. ; Loaiza, P. ; Lock, J. A. ; Luzón, G. (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Maalmi, J. ; Marquet, C. ; Martínez, M. ; Mathon, B. ; Ménard, L. ; Navas-Nicolás, D. ; Nunokawa, H. ; Ochoa-Ricoux, J. P. ; Obolensky, M. ; Palomares, C. ; Pillot, P. ; Porter, J. C. C. ; Pravikoff, M. S. ; Ramarijaona, H. ; Roche, M. ; Rosier, P. ; Roskovec, B. ; Sarsa, M. L. (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Shorrock, W. ; Simard, L. ; Steiger, H. Th. J. ; Stocco, D. ; Stutzmann, J. S. ; Suekane, F. ; Tunc, A. ; Verdier, M. -A. ; Verdugo, A. ; Viaud, B. ; Wakely, S. M. ; Yermia, F.

Resumen: Puzzles exist in our theories of Earth’s formation and bulk chemical composition. Related to these questions is our incomplete knowledge of the planet’s overall heat budget and thermal history. The successful observation of geoneutrinos originating from uranium and thorium decay chains, manifestations of the planet’s natural radioactivity, serves as the only direct probe of Earth’s internal, radiogenic heat engine so far. Intriguingly, potassium (40K) geoneutrinos have never been observed and have so far been considered impractical to measure despite their importance in Earth’s radioactive inventory. We propose here an approach for potassium geoneutrino detection that exploits their antiparticle nature. The detection framework relies on the LiquidO technique to identify positrons, thereby reducing otherwise overwhelming backgrounds. Antineutrino interactions with candidate
isotope targets have been thoroughly examined and copper is found to be the ideal isotope able to meet all experimental feasibility conditions. We discuss the challenging experimental requirements to yield a potassium geoneutrino discovery.

Idioma: Inglés

DOI: 10.1038/s42005-026-02518-6

Año: 2026

Publicado en: Communications Physics 9, 1 (2026), [14 pp.]
ISSN: 2399-3650

Tipo y forma: Artículo (Versión definitiva)

Área (Departamento): Área Física Atóm.Molec.y Nucl. (Dpto. Física Teórica)