Determining neutrino absorption spectra at Ultra-High Energies

TL;DR

This paper explores how radio detection of UHE neutrinos can reveal absorption features caused by their interaction with relic anti-neutrinos, providing insights into neutrino mass and source redshift.

Contribution

It introduces a method to detect absorption features in UHE neutrino spectra using low-frequency radio telescopes, linking spectral features to neutrino properties.

Findings

Absorption peaks are sensitive to neutrino mass.

Detection is feasible with upcoming low-frequency radio telescopes.

Method can probe neutrino interactions at ultra-high energies.

Abstract

A very efficient method to measure the flux of Ultra-high energy (UHE) neutrinos is through the detection of radio waves which are emitted by the particle shower in the lunar regolith. The highest acceptance is reached for radio waves in the frequency band of 100-200 MHz which can be measured with modern radio telescopes. In this work we investigate the sensitivity of this detection method to structures in the UHE neutrino spectrum caused by their absorption on the low-energy relic anti-neutrino background through the Z-boson resonance. The position of the absorption peak is sensitive to the neutrino mass and the redshift of the source. A new generation of low-frequency digital radio telescopes will provide excellent detection capabilities for measuring these radio pulses, thus making our consideration here very timely.