Radio emission from airplanes as observed with RNO-G

TL;DR

This study investigates radio signals from airplanes detected by RNO-G, characterizing their properties and assessing their use for calibration and neutrino detection, confirming the observatory's timing accuracy.

Contribution

First comprehensive analysis of airplane radio emissions with RNO-G, demonstrating their utility for calibration and impact on neutrino detection capabilities.

Findings

Signals are suitable for instrument calibration.

Timing precision matches expectations.

Impact on neutrino detection is discussed.

Abstract

This paper describes how intentional and unintentional radio emission from airplanes is recorded with the Radio Neutrino Observatory Greenland (RNO-G). We characterize the received signals and define a procedure to extract a clean set of impulsive signals. These signals are highly suitable for instrument calibration, also for future experiments. A set of signals is used to probe the timing precision of RNO-G in-situ, which is found to match expectations. We also discuss the impact of these signals on the ability to detect neutrinos with RNO-G.