Tau Neutrinos with Cherenkov Telescope Array

TL;DR

This paper explores the potential of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) to detect Earth-skimming tau neutrinos at energies above 10^8 GeV, suggesting CTA could contribute to high-energy neutrino astronomy with detectable event rates.

Contribution

It presents a novel analysis of CTA's capability to detect tau neutrinos, highlighting its potential for high-energy neutrino astronomy beyond gamma-ray observations.

Findings

Potential detection of a few tau neutrino events per year at >10^8 GeV for optimistic flux models.

Detection rates remain significant even for conservative neutrino flux estimates, requiring about a decade of observation.

CTA could serve as a valuable instrument for high-energy neutrino astronomy.

Abstract

The next generation of Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov telescope, like CTA, is going to strongly improve the detection capability of high-energy cosmic rays. In our paper we discuss the possibility to use such apparatus to detect Earth-skimming tau neutrinos. Interestingly the analysis shows that order few events per year can be detected for energies above $10^8$ GeV in the optimistic case of larger neutrino fluxes produced by Flat Spectrum Radio Quasars. However, even for more conservative cosmogenic neutrino fluxes such rate will be also obtained, but for a decade of running. This estimate seems to candidate a set up like CTA for performing high energy neutrino astronomy as well.