| 1. |
- Aguilar, J. A., et al.
(författare)
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Triboelectric backgrounds to radio-based polar ultra-high energy neutrino (UHEN) experiments
- 2023
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Ingår i: Astroparticle physics. - : Elsevier. - 0927-6505 .- 1873-2852. ; 145
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In the hopes of observing the highest-energy neutrinos (E> 1 EeV) populating the Universe, both past (RICE, AURA, ANITA) and current (RNO-G, ARIANNA, ARA and TAROGE-M) polar-sited experiments exploit the impulsive radio emission produced by neutrino interactions. In such experiments, rare single event candidates must be unambiguously identified above backgrounds. Background rejection strategies to date primarily target thermal noise fluctuations and also impulsive radio-frequency signals of anthropogenic origin. In this paper, we consider the possibility that 'fake' neutrino signals may also be generated naturally via the `triboelectric effect' This broadly describes any process in which force applied at a boundary layer results in displacement of surface charge, leading to the production of an electrostatic potential difference AV. Wind blowing over granular surfaces such as snow can induce such a potential difference, with subsequent coronal discharge. Discharges over timescales as short as nanoseconds can then lead to radio-frequency emissions at characteristic MHz-GHz frequencies. Using data from various past (RICE, AURA, SATRA, ANITA) and current (RNO G, ARIANNA and ARA) neutrino experiments, we find evidence for such backgrounds, which are generally characterized by: (a) a threshold wind velocity which likely depends on the experimental trigger criteria and layout; for the experiments considered herein, this value is typically O(10 m/s), (b) frequency spectra generally shifted to the low-end of the frequency regime to which current radio experiments are typically sensitive (100-200 MHz), (c) for the strongest background signals, an apparent preference for discharges from above-surface structures, although the presence of more isotropic, lower amplitude triboelectric discharges cannot be excluded.
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| 2. |
- Aguilar, J. A., et al.
(författare)
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Design and sensitivity of the Radio Neutrino Observatory in Greenland (RNO-G)
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of Instrumentation. - : Institute of Physics Publishing (IOPP). - 1748-0221. ; 16:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article presents the design of the Radio Neutrino Observatory Greenland (RNO-G) and discusses its scientific prospects. Using an array of radio sensors, RNO-G seeks to measure neutrinos above 10 PeV by exploiting the Askaryan effect in neutrino-induced cascades in ice. We discuss the experimental considerations that drive the design of RNO-G, present first measurements of the hardware that is to be deployed and discuss the projected sensitivity of the instrument. RNO-G will be the first production-scale radio detector for in-ice neutrino signals.
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| 3. |
- Aguilar, J. A., et al.
(författare)
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Hardware Development for the Radio Neutrino Observatory in Greenland (RNO-G)
- 2022
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Ingår i: 37th International Cosmic Ray Conference, ICRC2021. - Trieste, Italy : Proceedings of Science.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Radio Neutrino Observatory in Greenland (RNO-G) is designed to make the first observations of ultra-high energy neutrinos at energies above 10 PeV, playing a unique role in multi-messenger astrophysics as the world's largest in-ice Askaryan radio detection array. The experiment will be composed of 35 autonomous stations deployed over a 5 x 6 km grid near NSF Summit Station in Greenland. The electronics chain of each station is optimized for sensitivity and low power, incorporating 150 - 600 MHz RF antennas at both the surface and in ice boreholes, low-noise amplifiers, custom RF-over-fiber systems, and an FPGA-based phased array trigger. Each station will consume 25 W of power, allowing for a live time of 70% from a solar power system. The communications system is composed of a high-bandwidth LTE network and an ultra-low power LoRaWAN network. I will also present on the calibration and DAQ systems, as well as status of the first deployment of 10 stations in Summer 2021.
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| 4. |
- Aguilar, J. A., et al.
(författare)
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In situ, broadband measurement of the radio frequency attenuation length at Summit Station, Greenland
- 2022
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Ingår i: Journal of Glaciology. - : Cambridge University Press. - 0022-1430 .- 1727-5652. ; 68:272, s. 1234-1242
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Over the last 25 years, radiowave detection of neutrino-generated signals, using cold polar ice as the neutrino target, has emerged as perhaps the most promising technique for detection of extragalactic ultra-high energy neutrinos (corresponding to neutrino energies in excess of 0.01 Joules, or 10(17) electron volts). During the summer of 2021 and in tandem with the initial deployment of the Radio Neutrino Observatory in Greenland (RNO-G), we conducted radioglaciological measurements at Summit Station, Greenland to refine our understanding of the ice target. We report the result of one such measurement, the radio-frequency electric field attenuation length L-alpha. We find an approximately linear dependence of L-alpha on frequency with the best fit of the average field attenuation for the upper 1500 m of ice: < L-alpha > = ((1154 +/- 121) - (0.81 +/- 0.14) (v/MHz)) m for frequencies v is an element of [145 - 3501 MHz.
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| 5. |
- Aguilar, J. A., et al.
(författare)
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Reconstructing the neutrino energy for in-ice radio detectors
- 2022
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Ingår i: European Physical Journal C. - : Springer Nature. - 1434-6044 .- 1434-6052. ; 82:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Since summer 2021, the Radio Neutrino Observatory in Greenland (RNO-G) is searching for astrophysical neutrinos at energies > 10 PeV by detecting the radio emission from particle showers in the ice around Summit Station, Greenland. We present an extensive simulation study that shows how RNO-G will be able to measure the energy of such particle cascades, which will in turn be used to estimate the energy of the incoming neutrino that caused them. The location of the neutrino interaction is determined using the differences in arrival times between channels and the electric field of the radio signal is reconstructed using a novel approach based on Information Field Theory. Based on these properties, the shower energy can be estimated. We show that this method can achieve an uncertainty of 13% on the logarithm of the shower energy after modest quality cuts and estimate how this can constrain the energy of the neutrino. The method presented in this paper is applicable to all similar radio neutrino detectors, such as the proposed radio array of IceCube-Gen2.
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| 6. |
- Anker, A., et al.
(författare)
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A search for cosmogenic neutrinos with the ARIANNA test bed using 4.5 years of data
- 2020
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Ingår i: Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics. - : IOP PUBLISHING LTD. - 1475-7516. ; :3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The primary mission of the ARIANNA ultra-high energy neutrino telescope is to uncover astrophysical sources of neutrinos with energies greater than 10(16) eV. A pilot array, consisting of seven ARIANNA stations located on the surface of the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica, was commissioned in November 2014. We report on the search for astrophysical neutrinos using data collected between November 2014 and February 2019. A straight-forward template matching analysis yielded no neutrino candidates, with a signal efficiency of 79%. We find a 90% confidence upper limit on the diffuse neutrino flux of E-2 Phi = 1.7 x 10(-6) GeV cm(-2) s(-1) sr(-1) for a decade wide logarithmic bin centered at a neutrino energy of 10(18),eV, which is an order of magnitude improvement compared to the previous limit reported by the ARIANNA collaboration. The ARIANNA stations, including purpose built cosmic-ray stations at the Moore's Bay site and demonstrator stations at the South Pole, have operated reliably. Sustained operation at two distinct sites confirms that the flexible and adaptable architecture can be deployed in any deep ice, radio quiet environment. We show that the scientific capabilities, technical innovations, and logistical requirements of ARIANNA are sufficiently well understood to serve as the basis for large area radio-based neutrino telescope with a wide field-of-view.
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| 7. |
- Anker, A., et al.
(författare)
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Neutrino vertex reconstruction with in-ice radio detectors using surface reflections and implications for the neutrino energy resolution
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics. - : IOP PUBLISHING LTD. - 1475-7516. ; :11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Ultra high energy neutrinos (E-nu >10(16.5) eV) are efficiently measured via radio signals following a neutrino interaction in ice. An antenna placed O(15 m) below the ice surface will measure two signals for the vast majority of events (90% at E-nu = 10(18) eV): a direct pulse and a second delayed pulse from a reflection off the ice surface. This allows for a unique identification of neutrinos against backgrounds arriving from above. Furthermore, the time delay between the direct and reflected signal (D'n'R) correlates with the distance to the neutrino interaction vertex, a crucial quantity to determine the neutrino energy. In a simulation study, we derive the relation between time delay and distance and study the corresponding experimental uncertainties in estimating neutrino energies. We find that the resulting contribution to the energy resolution is well below the natural limit set by the unknown inelasticity in the initial neutrino interaction. We present an in-situ measurement that proves the experimental feasibility of this technique. Continuous monitoring of the local snow accumulation in the vicinity of the transmit and receive antennas using this technique provide a precision of O(1mm) in surface elevation, which is much better than that needed to apply the D'n'R technique to neutrinos.
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| 8. |
- Anker, A., et al.
(författare)
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Probing the angular and polarization reconstruction of the ARIANNA detector at the South Pole
- 2020
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Ingår i: Journal of Instrumentation. - : IOP PUBLISHING LTD. - 1748-0221. ; 15:9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The sources of ultra-high energy (UHE) cosmic rays, which can have energies up to 10(20) eV, remain a mystery. UHE neutrinos may provide important clues to understanding the nature of cosmic-ray sources. ARIANNA aims to detect UHE neutrinos via radio (Askaryan) emission from particle showers when a neutrino interacts with ice, which is an efficient method for neutrinos with energies between 10(16) eV and 10(20) eV. The ARIANNA radio detectors are located in Antarctic ice just beneath the surface. Neutrino observation requires that radio pulses propagate to the antennas at the surface with minimum distortion by the ice and firn medium. Using the residual hole from the South Pole Ice Core Project, radio pulses were emitted from a transmitter located up to 1.7 km below the snow surface. By measuring these signals with an ARIANNA surface station, the angular and polarization reconstruction abilities are quantified, which are required to measure the direction of the neutrino. After deconvolving the raw signals for the detector response and attenuation from propagation through the ice, the signal pulses show no significant distortion and agree with a reference measurement of the emitter made in an anechoic chamber. Furthermore, the signal pulses reveal no significant birefringence for our tested geometry of mostly vertical ice propagation. The origin of the transmitted radio pulse was measured with an angular resolution of 0.37 degrees indicating that the neutrino direction can be determined with good precision if the polarization of the radio-pulse can be well determined. In the present study we obtained a resolution of the polarization vector of 2.7 degrees. Neither measurement show a significant offset relative to expectation.
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| 9. |
- Jordanova, V. K., et al.
(författare)
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Specification of the near-Earth space environment with SHIELDS
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics. - : PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD. - 1364-6826 .- 1879-1824. ; 177, s. 148-159
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Predicting variations in the near-Earth space environment that can lead to spacecraft damage and failure is one example of "space weather" and a big space physics challenge. A project recently funded through the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program aims at developing a new capability to understand, model, and predict Space Hazards Induced near Earth by Large Dynamic Storms, the SHIELDS framework. The project goals are to understand the dynamics of the surface charging environment (SCE), the hot (keV) electrons representing the source and seed populations for the radiation belts, on both macro and micro-scale. Important physics questions related to particle injection and acceleration associated with magnetospheric storms and substorms, as well as plasma waves, are investigated. These challenging problems are addressed using a team of world-class experts in the fields of space science and computational plasma physics, and state-of-the-art models and computational facilities. A full two-way coupling of physics-based models across multiple scales, including a global MHD (BATS-R-US) embedding a particle-in-cell (iPIC3D) and an inner magnetosphere (RAM-SCB) codes, is achieved. New data assimilation techniques employing in situ satellite data are developed; these provide an order of magnitude improvement in the accuracy in the simulation of the SCE. SHIELDS also includes a post-processing tool designed to calculate the surface charging for specific spacecraft geometry using the Curvilinear Particle-In-Cell (CPIC) code that can be used for reanalysis of satellite failures or for satellite design.
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| 10. |
- Anker, A., et al.
(författare)
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Improving sensitivity of the ARIANNA detector by rejecting thermal noise with deep learning
- 2022
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Ingår i: Journal of Instrumentation. - : IOP Publishing. - 1748-0221. ; 17:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The ARIANNA experiment is an Askaryan detector designed to record radio signals induced by neutrino interactions in the Antarctic ice. Because of the low neutrino flux at high energies (E-nu > 10(16 )eV), the physics output is limited by statistics. Hence, an increase in sensitivity significantly improves the interpretation of data and offers the ability to probe new parameter spaces. The amplitudes of the trigger threshold are limited by the rate of triggering on unavoidable thermal noise fluctuations. We present a real-time thermal noise rejection algorithm that enables the trigger thresholds to be lowered, which increases the sensitivity to neutrinos by up to a factor of two (depending on energy) compared to the current ARIANNA capabilities. A deep learning discriminator, based on a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), is implemented to identify and remove thermal events in real time. We describe a CNN trained on MC data that runs on the current ARIANNA microcomputer and retains 95% of the neutrino signal at a thermal noise rejection factor of 10(5), compared to a template matching procedure which reaches only 10(2) for the same signal efficiency. Then the results are verified in a lab measurement by feeding in generated neutrino-like signal pulses and thermal noise directly into the ARIANNA data acquisition system. Lastly, the same CNN is used to classify cosmic-rays events to make sure they are not rejected. The network classified 102 out of 104 cosmic-ray events as signal.
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