Work

POEMMA–Balloon with Radio: A Balloon-Borne Multi- Messenger Multi-Detector Observatory

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: The Probe Of Extreme Multi-Messenger Astrophysics (POEMMA) is a proposed dual-satellite mission to observe Ultra-High-Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECRs), increase the statistics at the highest energies, and observe Very-High-Energy Neutrinos (VHENs) following multi-messenger alerts of astrophysical transient events, such as gamma-ray bursts and gravitational wave events, throughout the universe. POEMMA–Balloon with radio (PBR) is a small-scale version of the POEMMA design, adapted to be flown as a payload on one of NASA’s suborbital Super Pressure Balloons (SPBs) circling over the Southern Ocean for more than 20 days after a launch from Wanaka, New Zealand. The main science objectives of PBR are: (1) to observe UHECRs via the fluorescence technique from suborbital space; (2) to observe horizontal high-altitude air showers (HAHAs) with energies above the cosmic ray knee (E > 3PeV) using optical and radio detection for the first time; and (3) to follow astrophysical event alerts in the search of VHENs. The PBR instrument consists of a 1.1 m aperture Schmidt telescope similar to the POEMMA design, with two cameras on its focal surface: a Fluorescence Camera (FC) and a Cherenkov Camera (CC). In addition, PBR has a Radio Instrument (RI) optimized for detecting EASs (covering the 60–660 Mhz range). The FC observes UHECR-induced EASs in the ultraviolet (UV) spectrum using an array of 9216-pixel Multi-Anode Photo-Multiplier Tubes (MAPMTs) imaged every 1 μs. The CC uses a 2048-pixel Silicon Photo-Multiplier (SiPM) imager to observe cosmic-ray-induced HAHAs and search for neutrino-induced upward-going EASs. The CC covers a spectral range of 320–900 nm, with an integration time of 10 ns. This contribution provides an overview of PBR instruments and their current status.

Source: Particles

DOI: 10.3390/particles9010019

Authors: Giuseppe Osteria, Johannes Eser, Angela Olinto

Institutions: Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Napoli, Columbia University

Language: English

Topic: Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena

Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,930

Funders: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare