Cosmic-ray induced neutrino fluxes at the Moon: A semi-analytic approach

Cosmic-ray induced neutrino backgrounds at the Moon are estimated using a semi-analytic approach. The analytic expressions are derived, flux estimates for and are given, and comparisons with the analogous backgrounds generated in the Earth’s atmosphere are presented. Suppression of the lunar fluxes relative to the terrestrial fluxes is found. At energies >10 GeV, the suppression approaches a maximum of order 10⁻⁴. The lower background environment suggests that the Moon may be advantageous for future particle astrophysics endeavors.