EAS optical Cherenkov signatures of tau neutrinos for space and suborbital detectors

• Multi-messenger observations of transient astrophysical sources have the potential to characterize the highest energy accelerators and the most extreme environments in the Universe. Detection of neutrinos, in particular tau neutrinos generated by neutrino oscillations in transit from their sources to Earth, is possible for neutrino energies above 10 PeV using optical Cherenkov detectors imaging upward-moving extensive air showers (EAS). These EAS are produced from Earth-interacting tau neutrinos leading to tau leptons that subsequently decay in the atmosphere. We compare neutrino detection sensitivities for generic short- and long-burst transient neutrino sources and sensitivities to the diffuse neutrino flux for the second generation Extreme Universe Space Observatory on a Super-Pressure Balloon (EUSO-SPB2) balloon-borne mission and the proposed space-based Probe of Extreme Multi-Messenger Astrophysics (POEMMA) mission.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik -- Astronomi, astrofysik och kosmologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences -- Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology (hsv//eng)

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