Three dimensional calculation of flux of low energy atmospheric neutrinos

Abstract

Results of three-dimensional Monte Carlo calculation of low energy flux of atmospheric neutrinos are presented and compared with earlier one-dimensional calculations 1,2 valid at higher neutrino energies. These low energy neutrinos are the atmospheric background in searching for neutrinos from astrophysical sources. Primary cosmic rays produce the neutrino flux peaking at near E sub=40 MeV and neutrino intensity peaking near E sub v=100 MeV. Because such neutrinos typically deviate by 20 approximately 30 from the primary cosmic ray direction, three-dimensional effects are important for the search of atmospheric neutrinos. Nevertheless, the background of these atmospheric neutrinos is negligible for the detection of solar and supernova neutrinos