Development of Hexagonal Radio Array for the ARIANNA Ultra-High Energy Neutrino Detector

ARIANNA超高能中微子探测器六边形射电阵列的研制

• 批准号: 0970175
• 负责人: Steven Barwick
• 金额: $ 80万
• 依托单位: University of California-Irvine
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-09-15 至 2014-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0970175&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Development; Hexagonal; Radio; Array; ARIANNA

The primary purpose of the ARIANNA Ultra-High Energy (UHE) Neutrino project is to observe about 40 cosmogenic neutrinos per year from the GZK mechanism - extragalactic UHE protons collide with cosmic microwave background photons, producing pions that eventually decay to neutrinos - with sufficient precision to determine their energy spectrum and interaction properties. The energy spectrum of cosmogenic neutrinos provides important insight on the production mechanism and source distribution of cosmic rays. ARIANNA relies on the detection of radio pulses generated in dense media by the Askaryan effect and capitalizes on several properties of the Ross Ice Shelf near McMurdo Station, the hub of US operations: (1) the ice is impressively transparent to electromagnetic radiation at radio frequencies, (2) the water-ice boundary below the shelf behaves like a good mirror to reflect radio signals from neutrinos in any downward direction and (3) background noise levels are quite modest in the frequency band of interest. Nearby Minna Bluff protects the site from significant anthropogenic radio noise. Its close proximity to McMurdo Station provides a number of suitable options for logistical support. This award will fund the next step toward the realization of the ARIANNA concept, called the Hexagonal Radio Sub-array: to construct, deploy and commission a hexagonal arrangement of 7 autonomous detector stations at the ARIANNA site to assess large-scale feasibility, system robustness and the ambient noise environment over an extended period of time. These tests will provide input to optimize the final design of the Phase A component of ARIANNA, which consists of a 12 x 12 array of stations Among the broader impacts of this project are an outlet for curiosity and imagination driven research by students who will be given the opportunity to learn about data acquisition electronics, detector simulation, and data processing.

ARIANNA超高能（UHE）中微子项目的主要目的是每年从GZK机制中观察大约40个宇宙起源的中微子--河外UHE质子与宇宙微波背景光子碰撞，产生π子，最终衰变为中微子--具有足够的精度来确定它们的能谱和相互作用特性。宇宙成因中微子的能谱为研究宇宙线的产生机制和源分布提供了重要的信息。ARIANNA依赖于对Askaryan效应在稠密介质中产生的无线电脉冲的检测，并利用了美国业务中心麦默多站附近罗斯冰架的几个特性：（1）冰对于无线电频率的电磁辐射是令人印象深刻的透明的，（2）冰架下方的水冰边界就像一面很好的镜子，可以反射来自中微子的任何向下方向的无线电信号;（3）背景噪声水平在感兴趣的频带中是相当适度的。附近的明娜海崖保护该网站从显着的人为无线电噪音。它靠近麦默多站，为后勤支持提供了许多合适的选择。该奖项将资助实现ARIANNA概念的下一步，称为Hundronal Radio Sub-array：在ARIANNA现场建造，部署和调试7个自主探测器站的六边形排列，以评估大规模可行性，系统鲁棒性和长期环境噪声环境。这些测试将为优化ARIANNA A阶段组件的最终设计提供投入，该组件由12 x 12的站阵列组成。该项目的更广泛影响是学生们好奇心和想象力驱动的研究的出口，他们将有机会学习数据采集电子学、探测器模拟和数据处理。