# Status of the Lunar Detection Mode for Cosmic Particles of LOFAR

## TL;DR

This paper discusses the development of LOFAR's lunar detection mode to observe cosmic particles via radio emissions caused by the Askaryan effect on the Moon, aiming to enhance detection capabilities for ultra-high-energy particles.

## Contribution

It reports on the progress and current status of implementing lunar detection mode at LOFAR, a significant step towards detecting ZeV scale cosmic particles.

## Key findings

- Implementation of lunar detection mode underway
- Potential to significantly increase detection area for ultra-high-energy particles
- LOFAR's suitability for this detection technique confirmed

## Abstract

Cosmic particles hitting Earth's moon produce radio emission via the Askaryan effect. If the resulting radio ns-pulse can be detected by radio telescopes, this technique potentially increases the available collective area for ZeV scale particles by several orders of magnitude compared to current experiments. The LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR) is the largest radio telescope operating in the optimum frequency regime for this technique. In this contribution, we report on the status of the implementation of the lunar detection mode at LOFAR.