First results of the TIANSHAN radio experiment for neutrino detection

We present the first results of a set-up called TIANSHAN radio experiment for neutrino detection (TREND) being presently deployed on the site of the 21 cm array (21CMA) radio telescope, in XinJiang, China. We describe here its detection performances as well as the analysis method we applied to the data recorded with a small scale prototype. We demonstrate the ability of the TREND set-up for an autonomous radio-detection of extended air showers induced by cosmic rays. The full set-up will consist of 80 antennas deployed over a 4 km(2) area, and could result in a very attractive and unequalled radio-detection facility for the characterization of showers induced by ultra-high energy neutrinos with energies around 10(17) eV. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.