Measurements of radio propagation in rock salt for the detection of high-energy neutrinos

TL;DR

This study measures radio wave attenuation in salt mines to evaluate salt's suitability for high-energy neutrino detection, providing the most precise natural salt attenuation data to date.

Contribution

It offers the first detailed, frequency-dependent radio attenuation measurements in natural salt formations for neutrino detection applications.

Findings

Attenuation lengths are 93m at 150 MHz, 63m at 300 MHz, and 36m at 800 MHz.

Radio attenuation in salt is well-characterized across a broad frequency range.

Results inform the feasibility of salt-based neutrino detectors.

Abstract

We present measurements of the transmission of radio/microwave pulses through salt in the Cote Blanche salt mine operated by the North American Salt Company in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana. These results are from data taken in the southwestern region of the 1500 ft. (457 m) deep level of the mine on our third and most recent visit to the mine. We transmitted and received a fast, high-power, broadband pulse from within three vertical boreholes that were drilled to depths of 100 ft. (30 m) and 200 ft. below the 1500 ft. level using three different pairs of dipole antennas whose bandwidths span 125 to 900 MHz. By measuring the relative strength of the received pulses between boreholes with separations of 50 m and 169 m, we deduce the attenuation of the signal attributed to the salt medium. We fit the frequency dependence of the attenuation to a power law and find the best fit field attenuation lengths to be 93 \pm 7 m at 150 MHz, 63 \pm 3 m at 300 MHz, and 36 \pm 2 m at 800 MHz. This is the most precise measurement of radio attenuation in a natural salt formation to date. We assess the implications of this measurement for a future neutrino detector in salt.