Work

First Ultra High Energy Neutrino Search with a Hybrid Phased and Traditional Detector in the Askaryan Radio Array

Year: 2025

Type: conference-paper

Abstract: The Askaryan Radio Array (ARA) is an in-ice ultrahigh energy (UHE, >10 PeV) neutrino experiment at the South Pole, designed to detect neutrino-induced radio emission in ice. It consists of five independent stations, each featuring a cubic lattice of in-ice antenna clusters spaced ~30 m apart and buried ~200 m below the surface. The fifth ARA station (A5) is unique due to its central phased array string, which employs an interferometric trigger to enhance sensitivity to weak signals otherwise buried in noise. This low-threshold trigger makes ARA the first in-ice radio neutrino experiment to demonstrate a significant improvement in detecting low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) radio signals. We present progress toward the first UHE neutrino search utilizing A5's hybrid detection capability, incorporating advancements in data selection and background rejection. This analysis is the first to fully apply dedicated event selection to both components of ARA's hybrid detector, improving directional reconstruction and significantly enhancing background rejection compared to previous analyses. This approach paves the way for next-generation in-ice UHE neutrino experiments.

Source: International Cosmic Ray Conference

DOI: 10.22323/1.501.1022

Author: Paramita Dasgupta

Institution: The Ohio State University

Language: English

Topic: Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena

Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Funder: National Science Foundation

Awards: Collaborative Research: WoU-MMA: Askaryan Radio Array: The World's Forefront Neutrino Astrophysics Program from 100 PeV, CAREER: Advancing the Search for Ultra-High-Energy Tau Neutrinos with High-Elevation Radio Detectors, ASCEND: Expanding the Multi-Messenger Impact of In-Ice Radio Experiments, Precision Ultra-High Energy Neutrino Astrophysics and New Signatures Enabled by a Complete Treatment of Birefringence in Antarctic Ice, Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)