Review article "Geo-neutrinos"

Abstract

Geo-neutrinos, electron anti-neutrinos produced in β-decays of naturally occurring radioactive isotopes in the Earth, are a unique direct probe of our planet's interior. After a brief introduction about the Earth (mostly for physicists) and the very basics about the neutrinos and anti-neutrinos (mostly for geologists), I describe the geo-neutrino properties and the main aims of their study. An overview of the latest experimental results obtained by KamLAND and Borexino experiments is provided. A short overview of future perspectives of this new inter-disciplinary field is given.