Year: 2025
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: PUEO, the Payload for Ultrahigh Energy Observations, is a long duration balloon-borne experiment with the primary science goal of detecting the impulsive Askaryan emission from ultrahigh energy (UHE, >1 EeV) neutrinos interacting in the ice sheet of Antarctica. The ultrahigh energy neutrino flux is yet to be detected, and so a successful measurement by PUEO will give us information about the where and how these neutrinos are produced; this may be through a process called the GZK effect when ultrahigh energy cosmic rays interact with the cosmic microwave background, or it may be directly within the environment of cosmic ray accelerators. In order to detect radio Askaryan emission, PUEO consists of a broadband interferometric radio detector of 96 antennas which point down at the ice. Additionally, it has a drop-down low-frequency subsystem which will deploy after launch. This improves PUEO's ability to detect tau neutrinos and charged cosmic rays, which can both produce geomagnetic air shower emission. This contribution will outline PUEO's science case, present its expected sensitivity, and share status updates from our preparation to launch PUEO from McMurdo Station, Antarctica in December 2025.
DOI: 10.22323/1.501.0976
Authors: Quin Abarr, P. Allison, J. Alvarez-Muñiz, J. Ammerman Yebra, T. Anderson, A. Basharina-Freshville, J. J. Beatty, L. Beaufore, D. Z. Besson, R. Bose, D. Braun, B. Chamanbahar, P. Chen, Y. Chen, J. M. Clem, T. Coakley, A. Connolly, L. Cremonesi, A. C. Cummings, P. Dasgupta, C. Deaconu, J. Flaherty, P. W. Gorham, C. Hornhuber, J. Hoffman, K. Hughes, A. Hynous, A. Jung, A. Kofman, Y. Ku, C.-Y. Kuo, P. Linton, L. Lisalda, T. C. Liu, W. Luszczak, S. C. Mackey, Z. Martin, K. McBride, C. Miki, J. Nam, R. J. Nichol, A. Novikov, A. Nozdrina, E. Oberla, S. Prohira, H. Pumphrey, D. Radomski, B. F. Rauch, R. Scrandis, D. Seckel, M. F. H. Seikh, J. Shiao, G. Simburger, A. G. Vieregg, S.-H. Wang, C. Welling, S. A. Wissel, C. Xie, J. Yao, R. Young, E. Zas, A. Zeolla
Institutions: University of Delaware, The Ohio State University, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Pennsylvania State University, University of Kansas, Washington University in St. Louis, University of Chicago, National Taiwan University, University of Hawaii System, Wallops Flight Facility, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, University of London, National Pingtung University, University College London
Language: English
Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Award: G1858592047
OpenAlex ID: W4414493848