Radiodetection of Neutrinos

TL;DR

This paper discusses the efforts and proposals to detect ultra-high energy neutrinos via radio signals from their interactions in ice, aiming to uncover the origins of cosmic rays.

Contribution

It introduces a large-scale radio detection method for ultra-high energy neutrinos, proposing a 100 km³ Antarctic ice detector to improve detection prospects.

Findings

Radio detection experiments have not yet observed neutrinos.

Proposals for 100 km³ Antarctic ice detector aim to observe neutrinos within a few years.

Detection of neutrinos would provide insights into cosmic ray origins.

Abstract

Despite 100 years of effort, we still know very little about the origin of ultra-high energy cosmic rays. The observation of neutrinos produced when cosmic-ray protons with energies above $4\times 10^{19}$ eV interact with the cosmic microwave background radiation, or in the neutrino sources, would tell us much about the origin and composition of these particles. Over the past decade, many experiments have searched for radio waves emitted from the charged particle showers produced when EHE neutrinos interact with Antarctic or Greenland ice or the moon. These experiments have not yet observed a neutrino signal. Two groups are now proposing to instrument 100 km$^3$ of Antarctic ice with radio antennas, producing a detector large enough to observe a clear EHE neutrino signal in a few years of operation.