1. Phased arrays: A strategy to lower the energy threshold for neutrinos
- Author
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Anusha Gupta, Nora Shipp, G. S. Varner, C. Miki, Andrew Ludwig, Eric Oberla, A. Romero-Wolf, Chandler Schlupf, R. J. Nichol, L. Cremonesi, Wesley Messino, Keith Bechtol, Stephanie Wissel, Abigail G. Vieregg, Jessica Avva, David Saltzberg, and Tyler Chesebro
- Subjects
Physics ,Photon ,010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences ,Anechoic chamber ,Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena ,QC1-999 ,Astrophysics::Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics ,Flux ,Cosmic ray ,01 natural sciences ,Background noise ,Nuclear physics ,0103 physical sciences ,Neutrino ,010306 general physics ,Energy (signal processing) ,Cherenkov radiation ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences - Abstract
In-ice radio arrays are optimized for detecting the highest energy, cosmogenic neutrinos expected to be produced though cosmic ray interactions with background photons. However, there are two expected populations of high energy neutrinos: the astrophysical flux observed by IceCube (∼1 PeV) and the cosmogenic flux (∼ 1017 eV or 100 PeV). Typical radio arrays employ a noise-riding trigger, which limits their minimum energy threshold based on the background noise temperature of the ice. Phased radio arrays could lower the energy threshold by combining the signals from several channels before triggering, thereby improving the signal-to-noise at the trigger level. Reducing the energy threshold would allow radio experiments to more efficiently overlap with optical Cherenkov neutrino telescopes as well as for more efficient searches for cosmogenic neutrinos. We discuss the proposed technique and prototypical phased arrays deployed in an anechoic chamber and at Greenland’s Summit Station.
- Published
- 2017